PledgeMusic co-founder and former CEO Benji Rogers penned an open letter after it was announced that the troubled crowdfunder would be filling for bankruptcy. "I went back into PledgeMusic just over three months ago as a volunteer to try and help the board and team turn around and sell the…
Category archives: Startups & Funding
PledgeMusic To Enter Administration As Sale Falls Through
A prospective sale of PledgeMusic has fallen through, and the company will enter administration, the UK equivalent of bankruptcy, sources with direct knowledge of the situation tell Hypebot. UK based corporate advisory FRP will be nominated to administer a court directed sale of all assets, which would be used to…
How To Be The Next Music Business Unicorn [Kedar Fredric]
As an independent artist, there’s a lot to be learned from the startup world in relation to how you manage your career. here Kedar Frederic illustrates some valuable principles from startup culture, and how artists can effectively integrate them with their careers. ________________________________ Guest post by Kedar Frederic, VP Business…
PledgeMusic Enters Pre-Administration As Buyer Deliberates
PledgeMusic.com Limited is in pre-administration, the UK version of a pre-bankruptcy, sale or reorganization, sources tell Hypebot. But as we previously reported, there is also still an active potential buyer. A confidential email leaked by DMN, which purports to offers potential buyers a look at PledgeMusic’s assets and financials, only…
Midemlab Offers Look At Music Tech’s Best New Startups
Global music industry convention MIDEM has named its 2019 Midemlab nominees. Designed to honor the 20 best new music tech startups, Midemlab 2019 received 177 submissions from 45 countries. Previous participants in the contest include Soundcloud, the Echo Nest (acquired by Spotify), and BandPage (acquired by YouTube). 2018 winner, Asaii,…
3 Music Streaming Services Offer Emerging Artists Programs
In many ways, being an artist is harder now than it’s ever been, and the path to music industry success is crowded with obstacles. Streaming services have taken note of this challenge however, and several of them have been working to put programs in place designed to help emerging artists…
Spotify Passes 217M Active Users, Revenue Per User Slips
UPDATED: Spotify’s monthly active users grew 26% over the last year to 217 million at the end of 2018, the streamer reported on Monday. Now in 79 countries, a February launch in India added 2 million to its global total. Overall, Spotify posted a smaller first-quarter loss of $158 million…
What To Expect From Spotify’s Q1 Earning Report Monday (NYSE:SPOT)
Spotify (NYSE:SPOT) will share its first quarter 2019 financial results on Monday, April 29, 2019 before market opens. It is the first report to investors since the streamer’s big bet on podcasting with the acquisition of Gimlet Media and Anchor. Analysts generally view Spotify earnings and stock favorably and expect…
Motown Records To Launch Musician, Startup Accelerators
Legendary Motown Records is launching two new programs aimed at giving musicians and music-tech startups a serious career boost. The first program, dubbed the Motown Musician Accelerator, will offer individualized coaching, industry introductions and a $20,000 grant to four musicians or musical groups during a 12-week program slated to launch…
After K-Pop’s Big Week, What Comes Next?
K-Pop is certainly having a moment as far as its Stateside popularity goes, but will South Korean pop music’s recent surge in popularity in the US translate to more than just flash in the pan, and develop into longterm sustainable popularity? ___________________________ Guest post by David Deal of Superhype K-pop…