RootMusic raises $2.3M to help bands

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



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.