For every scrappy startup that sets the music world on fire, there are dozens of fledgling music services that go down in flames. Just ask Dalton Caldwell, founder of Imeem, an advertising-supported streaming music service that was purchased by MySpace for $1 million last year, only to be shut down a month later.
At a recent conference at Stanford University, Caldwell dashed music entrepreneurs’ hopes with a harsh lecture on the futility of launching a digital music service. But while it’s true that territorial record labels, crippling licensing fees, and good old-fashioned Darwinism have crushed many a digital music venture (RIP: Napster, Kazaa, LimeWire), a handful of players are proving naysayers like Caldwell wrong.
The automated music recommendation service was on the verge of singing its swan song due to a proposed rise in music royalty rates. Since then, the company has reemerged as a profitable digital music venture with about 700,000 tracks to its name. Today, more than 48 million listeners enter song titles and artist names, check out recommendations, and provide feedback on individual tracks.
Founded by ‘Addicted to Noise’ creator David Hyman, and boasting music impresario Rick Rubin on its board of directors, it’s no wonder MOG is earning accolades as an ad-free subscription service that grants music fans access to nearly 10 million songs.
Spotify wants to grant music lovers the same access to music as paid services like Rhapsody and Rdio but with a free, ad-supported model. That’s piqued the interest of industry stalwarts like Apple which, as of mid-October, was rumored to be in talks to buy Spotify, a music streaming platform from Napster’s Sean Parker. Apple has denied the rumors but industry observers are staying tuned.
Brought to you by Kazaa’s founders, music subscription service Rdio lets listeners play the music they want from the web or a mobile phone for as little as $4.99 a month.
