MUSIKKI RAISES USD 1 MILLION FROM PORTUGAL VENTURES LAUNCHES EXCLUSIPH
28 April 2016 - Press releaseIndependent labels 4AD and Secretly Group on-board Exclusiph platform
Musikki, the music startup providing B2C and B2B music services including the Musikki Music API, has successfully closed a new round of funding securing USD 1,000,000 from Portugal Ventures, the biggest venture capital fund in Portugal.
With the new funds secured, Musikki today launches Exclusiph, an innovative and disruptive image management and distribution tool for the music industry, already in use by independent labels 4AD and Secretly Group.
The Exclusiph platform enables the distribution of images to any and many channels with just one file upload. By uploading a high-resolution file, e.g.TIFF, Exclusiph automatically generates the image for print, as a digital download, and embeds it. Credits, music metadata and related content like press releases, video and audio links can all be added to the image file, making Exclusiph the perfect tool for album promotion.
The explanatory video is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9A36keK_XY4
The Exclusiph solution was developed and fine-tuned in conjunction with independent label 4AD, home to acts such as The National, Beirut, and Grimes. In addition to 4AD, the Exclusiph platform is already being used by a number of independent labels and label groups, such as Secretly Group, which features artists like Destroyer and Sharon Van Etten. Musikki is also in talks with the major labels, as well as most of the independent labels about using the Exclusiph solution.
Rich Walker, General Manager of 4AD, comments: “I’m excited to see Exclusiph launch. Their idea is a simple one and it really could help answer quite a few issues we face with both the storage and delivery of imagery.”
Joao Afonso, co-founder and CEO of Musikki, explains: “We are delighted to have received funding from Portugal Ventures, as this enables us to focus on the launch and marketing of Exclusiph, a service which we believe will truly disrupt, not only the way we manage and distribute images in the music industry but in every industry where image and brand is important.”
“We set up Musikki as a consumer app, dubbed ‘the IMDB of music’, but quickly diversified the offering by launching the Music API which provides all the data, content and information needed to develop a new music service. The aim of the Musikki Music API is to provide everything except the music itself. And, it was during our quest to provide a one-stop solution for music app developers that we identified the need in the B2B space to easily access and manage high quality and official music photos.”
“Spotting the gap in the market, Musikki created Exclusiph, an innovative image management and distribution tool for the music industry. All images on the Exclusiph platform will also be available via the Musikki Music API, which enables the update of any artist's image, across potentially every music service, in a matter of seconds thereby truly revolutionising music promotion and marketing”, Afonso continues.
Starting with the music industry, Exclusiph will expand into other industry verticals such as film, fashion and sports, which also are heavily dependent on timely image management and distribution systems.
Marco Fernandes, CEO, Portugal Ventures says: "We have great expectations for Musikki. This kind of platform, dedicated to the music industry, updated in real time and born global is the kind of startup we want to invest in order to foster the Portuguese startup ecosystem. With the new Exclusiph service we believe that Musikki will be a disruptor and game changer in the music industry".
The new investment from Portugal Ventures will allow Musikki to focus on Exclusiph, proving the platform and business model within the music industry.
Negotiations for a series A fund-raise with corporate and institutional investors, are already in process as Musikki gears up to enter other markets with Exclusiph and its new approach to image management and distribution. This continues Musikki’s successful initial funding secured by winning, in 2012, the Building Global Innovators Venture Competition co-organised by the MIT, which provided the music-tech startup with USD 250,000 in first funding. Musikki also secured USD 500,000 from Intercapital and Smarty Equity, two investment firms focused on early-stage ventures.
Musikki is based in London, with a developing office in Porto, Portugal.
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