Mixcloud Raises $11.5 million Series A For DJs

Morning Report: Mixcloud raises $11.5 million Series A for audio streaming.

Today it’s more money for streaming as audio platform Mixcloud raised an $11.5 million Series A, originally reported by TechCrunch.

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The round was led by Beverly Hills-based WndrCo, a holding company focused on media-focused technology. Its other investments include the popular online news channel the Young Turks, which distributes to a large audience on both Youtube and Facebook.

UK-based Mixcloud was founded in 2008 by Mat Clayton, Nico Perez, Nkhil Shah, and Sam Cook who, according to its website, met each other while running a radio show at Cambridge University.

This is the first known funding round for Mixcloud but not its first attempt. According to TechCrunch, the founders attempted to fundraise after quitting their jobs to found the company to no avail, which the founders attribute to possible unease over the fallout of Napster and an under-the radar music streaming ecosystem.

Unlike Spotify, which is primarily focused on music streaming, part of Mixcloud’s approach is that users can not only listen to radio shows, podcasts and DJ mixes, but are encouraged to upload their own content. (To answer the obvious piracy question, in December 2017, the company announced its partnership with Gracenote, a music recognition technology company, to improve copyright flagging capability on its site.) According to that announcement, the company is home to more than 12 million DJ sets, radio shows, and podcasts, and boasts a community of more than 1.2 million people uploading more than 1,000 hours of content a day.

The company will use its new capital to expand globally to the U.S. where Spotify and Apple Music are battling for music streaming market share. If the bet will pay out we’ll know soon enough.

From The Crunchbase Daily:

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Applitools raises $31M for testing tools

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Stay up to date with recent funding rounds, acquisitions, and more with the Crunchbase Daily.

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