Dubset raises $500K for DJ mixing site

Like Turntable.fm, except more focused on single DJs curating their own complete mixes

While the hype over social DJ site Turntable.fm has mellowed a bit, the fuel behind that original hype remains. The Web is ripe for new and innovative music services to change how musicians and listeners interact beyond the simple provisions of subscription services like Spotify or radio like Pandora.

Dubset, a new website for curated music mixes, announced Thursday that it has raised $500,000 in funding from Governing Dynamics Venture Capital and a team of angel investors.

A haven for music makers and listeners in love with sharing and discovering new tracks, Dubset, at its heart, provides a platform for DJs to publish mixes. Here, for example, is the DJ page for Felix Da Housecat, complete with mixes, bio, contact information and more.

Felix is probably the best-known name on Dubset at the moment, though DJ Cassidy and Jessica Rosemblaum also have accounts. What’s awesome about the site is that anyone can sign up as a listener or a DJ (here’s my DJ page, but it’s a little sparse right now).

“Unlike Pandora, Spotify, and Last.fm who focus on streaming single track music, Dubset provides consumers with hundreds of channels of new music curated by the world’s top DJs,” said founder and CEO Dave Stein.

“The DJs selected for Dubset are top tier tastemakers. They are recognized for identifying new artists and songs well before they hit mainstream radio and the masses. Our platform gives us exclusive access to this content while giving DJs one-to-one distribution to the music fan.”

On top of that, Dubset is already aligning itself with the music industry so that artists and labels can earn royalties when their tracks are played over the network. SRC Records founder and Universal Music Group executive Steve Rifkind sits on the company’s board of advisors.

Dubset was founded in 2009, is headquartered in New York and had previously raised $100,000 in funding.