Music Startup Muzooka Raises $3 Million in Series A Round, Adds Ron Sakamoto to Board
San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) August 11, 2014 -- Muzooka Inc., the social music discovery and technology company, today announced they've completed a $3 million Series A-1 financing round. Combined with earlier angel investment, it brings total raised capital to date to just over $3.6 million. The round represents a successful funding of a music tech startup through non-traditional sources outside of Silicon Valley.
Muzooka plans to use the funding to expand staff, focusing on data exploration, and mobile and product development.
In recent months, Muzooka has redeveloped its products to align closely with its business strategy, and has recruited several high profile music industry professionals with various backgrounds. Over 20 experienced industry members are now involved with Muzooka, one of which is Ron Sakamoto, concert promoter extraordinaire and owner of Gold & Gold Productions Ltd.
In addition, Muzooka announces Mr. Sakamoto will join its board of directors, alongside Doug Nyhoff (Executive Chairman), and Shawn Wilson (CEO), bringing over 40 years of concert promotion experience, business savvy, and high profile relationships from his industry network.
RON SAKAMOTO
Ron has served as board member on both the Country Music Association (CMA) and the Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA). Recently, he was selected to sit on the board of directors for the International Entertainment and Talent Buyers Association (IEBA) based in Nashville.
His contributions and dedication to the country music scene in Canada has been tremendous, earning him the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012, and his soon to be induction into the CCMA Hall of Fame this September. In addition, Ron has won 17 consecutive CCMA Promoter/Talent Buyer of the Year Awards, prompting the organization to name the award in his honor in 2010.
CALL FOR ARTISTS
Gold & Gold Productions recently announced a call for new independent artists to headline their fall concert season using Muzooka as its primary platform to vet artists. According to Ron, "I look forward to the innovative and unique business model in which Muzooka is pioneering. Muzooka and its team of internet entrepreneurs are convinced that the current music industry model and current music startup services are too deeply concerned with owning and profiting from artists and music rights, and less so about the music art and the artist. Muzooka is taking a bold approach to solving the industry's challenges and will change the direction it is going. It's truly a reinvention and I'm proud to be a part of it."
CEO and co-founder Shawn Wilson adds, "The music industry is reactive – embracing technologies' promising return to artists and labels via subscription models and advertising royalties which are marginal. New music startups continue to pursue these models that do no real service to the music industry as a whole, and compensates next to nothing to the talented music creators and collaborators in the industry. We are taking a considerate and methodical approach that will connect all music lovers of all talents together, and formally create a solution not just for everyone involved but a new foundation for the music industry to stand on."
Artists wishing to participate in the Call for Artists can submit their music at the Muzooka website. Tracks which reach the highest ranks will be considered for the upcoming fall concert season.
ABOUT MUZOOKA:
Founded in 2012, San Francisco-based Muzooka [muh-ZOO-kah] is a social music platform that allows independent artists to reach an audience of music lovers, while connecting them to industry professionals to collaborate and get discovered. Artists' songs are ranked among others in the system by Muzooka members who vote for ones they like. Higher ranked songs and artists gain attention from the panel of top industry pros. For the first time, Muzooka provides a stage for the world’s top producers, executives, and A&R reps, and anyone who loves good music to find the hottest unsigned and undiscovered musical artists. Artists can post their music on the Muzooka website, and music fans can listen via web and the dedicated Muzooka apps for iOS and Android available on iTunes and Google Play. For more information, visit http://www.muzooka.com/welcome.
Press Contact
Leo Tran
leo(at)muzooka(dot)com
Leo Tran, Muzooka, http://www.muzooka.com, +1 403-561-7883, [email protected]
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