In an effort to get ahead of its competitors, Spotify, new UK-based Psonar has hit equity crowdfunding platform Crowdcube to raise £250,000 so that it can continue to develop its music services.
Psnoar is described as an on-demand streaming music service (aka a virtual jukebox in the Cloud) that allows mobiles phone users worldwide play their favorite tunes on a “Pay As You Go” basis. This means there is no commitment to expensive streaming or having to deal with ads.
Features of the services include:
- Play a track once from just 1c / 1p / 1€c
- Play albums and playlists with one click
- Gifting – gift music to other people having paid for them to listen
- Pay by phone (PAYG or contract)
- Android, iPhone & adaptive web apps
- Live in UK and Ireland with over 3M tracks including from Universal Music and the major independent distributors.
During a recent interview with Music Business Worldwide, Psonar co-founder and CEO Martin Rigby stated:
“In the last two years there has been a major shift in consumption of digital music, from downloading to streaming. Streaming growth has been focused around variations of a single payment model: subscription of £9.99 per month on mobile. The major limitation with this model is that it is unaffordable for many consumers in developed economies and the vast majority of consumers in developing economies.
“Psonar is a business with global potential – hundreds of millions of music fans worldwide have smartphones but don’t have credit cards or bank accounts. Psonar offers them access to on-demand streaming music on a PAYG basis, which is affordable, flexible and gives them complete control over how much they spend.
“The investment that we are raising on Crowdcube will position the service for international expansion, which includes launching the service in other European territories and the USA at the end of this year. We anticipate raising a larger series A round in late 2015 or early 2016 to accelerate Psonar’s global roll-out plan.
“Our target territories for further expansion starting in late 2015 include sub-Saharan Africa, south-east Asia and Latin America.”
Psonar is currently offering 5.93% equity for £250,000. Reportedly, the company has captured £305k privately, raised £343,458 on SyndicateRoom, and received from £100,000 London Co-investment Fund (LCF).
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