Today, London based music-tech company Audoo has announced it has closed its Series A, raising £5.2 million in less than 10 weeks in an investment round backed by Björn Ulvaeus and existing investors including Tileyard London.
The funding will go towards ensuring artists receive revenue that is rightfully theirs by accurately recognising and reporting music played in public performance areas (e.g. shops, gyms and cafés).
Audoo has invented an audio meter, shaped as a small plug that fits into a standard electrical socket without the need for complex installation. The meter securely monitors what music a venue is playing, recognises and logs it, meaning that artists and composers can accurately receive the royalties they are owed for the broadcasting of their work. To maximise the audio meter rollout, Audoo is working with Performing Right Organisations around the world to make installation a condition of venues gaining a license to play music.
No audio that is captured is ever recorded, stored or transmitted, therefore no PII (personal identifiable information) is ever captured either. Music is identified by proprietary digital finger printing technology, this is then matched against a library of over 70m songs, to report the exact version of the song broadcasted. This ensures Audoo is GDPR compliant.
Beyond royalty reporting the data captured can also be leveraged by record labels, publishers, catalogue owners, managers, booking agents and artists themselves to refine their strategy, book tours and better understand how real-world music is consumed.
Audoo have already won numerous music & technology industry awards, including MIDEM Labs earlier this summer. Audoo have consistently been cited for their ground-breaking music-recognition, technology and the company’s mission to revolutionise the way music is monitored and to deliver market leading accuracy wherever the audio meter is installed.
Audoo is in good company with their industry leading Board featuring names such as Alexi Cory-Smith – Ex-President Repertoire & Marketing at BMG, Rick Riccobono a former vice-president at BMI Inc. and International Rights Expert, Cliff Fluet, Chair of the Ivors Academy Trust, Adam Parness the formal Global Head of Publishing and Chris Herbert, Music Manager and creator of the Spice Girls.
Speaking on the closing of the funding round, Audoo CEO Ryan Edwards stated: “It doesn’t matter who you are – from Sir Elton John to the local singer-songwriter – we will deliver accurate data to ensure artists are paid fairly. The mission is everything to us.
If our technology is in place in all UK licenced premises, it will log around 80 million plays every 12 hours. We’ll know – with certainty and in detail – exactly what people are listening to. We will collect and report the biggest set of public performance music data ever created.”
Björn Ulvaeus said, “For a long time I have urged Performing Right Organisations to use intelligent third-party technology. Audoo is a solution I believe will change the music industry forever and that’s why I have put my money where my mouth is.”
Chris Herbert, Audoo Non-Executive Director and Music Manager said, “Having worked closely with Ryan and the team for the past year, I couldn’t be prouder of our achievements, and how quickly we have raised these funds in such a challenging environment from industry leading & experienced investors. It is further validation of the need for such technology on a global scale.”
Cliff Fluet, Audoo Board Advisor and Chair of the Ivors Academy Trust added, “As a rights lawyer passionate about using technology to generate, find and distribute greater revenues, I have observed the importance of better data leading to more equitable distributions. This is a challenge experienced by all those in the music value chain and mission-critical for creators, from some of the largest artists on the planet to the emerging talent we are supporting in the early stage of their careers at the Ivors Academy Trust. Fair distributions of these revenues are even more important given the decimation of live music during the pandemic, which is a core focus of the DCMS inquiry into new music revenues”
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