RootMusic raises $2.3M to help bands

Streaming music, download links, and YouTube videos added to one of the largest social networks

Technology trends and news by Katie Gatto
January 5, 2011 | Comments
Short URL: http://vator.tv/n/1591

46497



Bands are kind of a MySpace thing. As a matter of fact MySpace declared itself to be all about music. Bands love to use MySpace because of its pimped-out profiles, and the ability to add tracks to profiles.

Facebook for bands is kind of plain. Or, at least it used to be. But that could change. One company is helping artists to pimp their profiles on Facebook. RootMusic, a San Francisco-based startup that helps bands look good on Facebook, raised $2.3 million in equity and debt funding. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

RootMusic allows users to do more than simply make their profile pretty. It adds the missing feature for default profiles - the ability to add up to two hours of streaming music. Users can also add links to those tracks on sites such as Amazon and iTunes. That way, if a user likes it, they can own it, without the lengthy search.

RootMusic also allows users to embed pictures and YouTube videos quickly and easily, which really simplifies self-promotion. RootMusic takes promotion one step further. It allows users to share the streaming and download links for the music they like. This is a good thing, since few people in their right mind would turn down free word-of-mouth promotion. This is especially true on Facebook, which surpasses even Google in number of minutes users spend on the site.

Musicians have caught onto this service quickly, because Root music currently enjoys a four-star rating on Facebook, and has 12.6 million monthly active users on the social network. The app is currently being used by established artists such as Avril Lavigne and Lil Wayne.

This company works under the freemuim model. Basic band pages are free, as are fan pages. The company charges $1.99 a month for bands that elect for the Band Page Plus option. Band Page Plus allows users to customize the look of the page and add background images.


Related news


blog comments powered by Disqus
Find your friends' startup new!
Vator is more valuable if you know who's here.
Discover who has a startup and help their success by following their progress!

Featured Stories

Latest company news bites on Vator

Bidzzar,Inc - Simon Bull (Founder CEO)
Is SnackBooth.com the tastiest startup of them all?
See more
We had one of our long-time practitioners tell us the new portal was going to change ...
See more
The Mergelocal app is live and available for download on the App Store: http://itunes.apple.com/app/mergelocal/id526348270?mt=8
See more
A new video was uploaded to Ether2 about 12 hours ago
WaTunes - Kevin Rivers (Founder/CEO)
Venzo Music Offers Pre-Cut Ringtones on iTunes!! - http://www.watunes.com/2012/05/venzo-music-integrates-pre-cut-itunes.html
See more