| MusicHype gets investment to go global |
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WebFund's investment "MusicHype" closes a $600,000 investment round with the Rutherford Innovation Fund for expansion into the US.
The Rutherford Innovation Fund Invests in MusicHype.com21 January 2011 - WebFund investment MusicHype.com closes a NZ$600,000 investment round with the Rutherford Innovation Fund for expansion into the North American market. The investment will be used to expand MusicHype's marketing and technical teams, while also tackling the music industry and music fans in North America. Founders Jeff Mitchell and Annabel Youens will be opening up a permanent office in Los Angeles to work collaboratively with the Wellington based team. MusicHype.com rewards fans for promoting and spending money on the bands they love. It turns music promotion into a social game, and enables bands to make money from exclusive merchandise, tickets, digital downloads, and other products. Having proven traction in New Zealand, the company is ready to scale in North America. Kenji Steven, the Managing Director of Rutherford Innovation Fund says, “We invested in MusicHype because we know there are huge opportunities in reorganizing the music industry. MusicHype has the team, the passion, and the technology to deliver real value to artists by bringing cash through the door for them. The underlying 'Appreciation Engine®' technology can also be applied to many other verticals.” Jeff Mitchell, the CEO/CTO of MusicHype believes this investment will give more artists and fans opportunities to connect. “It's exciting to be able to tap into the large North American market. We'll be partnering with bands and labels in the US to help them reward their fans and make more money. At the same time we'll be able to expose music fans in North America to the incredible bands we're working with in NZ.” MusicHype.com is a Wellington-based start up that rewards music fans through a managed promotional platform for artists and labels. Having been a finalist for the 2010 NZ Open Source Awards in Business, and invited to speak at the international music event MIDEM (23-26 January 2011), MusicHype is going to open an LA office in the spring of 2011. --- MusicHype: www.musichype.com Annabel Youens, MusicHype Chief Marketing Officer
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+64 21 87774 Rutherford Innovation Fund nzcapstrat.com Lauren Runnalls,
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The investment will be used to expand MusicHype's marketing and technical teams, while also tackling the music industry and music fans in North America. Founders Jeff Mitchell and Annabel Youens will be opening up a permanent office in Los Angeles to work collaboratively with the Wellington based team. MusicHype.com rewards fans for promoting, talking about and spending money on the bands they love. It turns music promotion into a social game, and enables bands to make money from exclusive merchandise, tickets, digital downloads, and other products. The MusicHype platform tracks fans’ activity across social media services like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Last.FM, and rewards fans for promoting the bands they love. It increases direct revenue for artists and labels through ticket sales, merchandise and other music related products. MusicHype is powered by the social commerce Appreciation Engine®, a proprietary underlying technology that will be expanded to other industries. Having proven traction and reached breakeven within its first year of operation in New Zealand, the company is ready to scale in North America. Kenji Steven, Director of NZ Capital Strategies, General Partner of the Rutherford Innovation Fund says, “We invested in MusicHype because the music industry has been disrupted by the Internet and digital technologies. Established business models are not providing adequate returns for record labels and artists, or satisfying experiences for fans. MusicHype provides a platform for bands to leverage rapidly changing technologies and new business models by directly engaging with fans. The underlying 'Appreciation Engine®' technology can also be applied to many other verticals, which we find tremendously exciting due to the growing importance of social media on influencing consumer behaviour.” Jeff Mitchell, CEO/CTO of MusicHype, believes this investment will give more artists and fans opportunities to connect. “It's exciting to be able to tap into the large North American market. We'll be partnering with bands and labels in the US to help them reward their fans and make more money. At the same time we'll be able to expose music fans in North America to the incredible bands we're working with in NZ.” About MusicHype About NZ Capital Strategies |