Cannes, France – Hello Music, a new
Web-based talent discovery service for musical artists, announced on Friday that
it has raised $4 million in funding from KVG Partners.
The company was conceived
and incubated by digital music product design firm Wilshire Media Group, whose
partners include Zack Zalon — former president of Virgin Digital and an early
employee of Farmclub.com.
KVG lead investor and Lyric Opera president and CEO
Dick Kiphart will serve as chairman of Hello Music.
The site lets artists
upload their music and information, which are then screened by the company’s
evaluation team, made up of "industry advisors, songwriters and composers,
world-class musicians, ex-label A&R people, and independent music aficionados."
These screeners provide feedback both to the artists, and to its partners, who
may choose to utilize their songs for various opportunities.
If the artist
decides to capitalize on the offer, Hello Music takes a cut of any revenue
generated.
Initial partners include synchronization services AudioMicro and
Getty Images; booking service GigMaven; LyricFind; analytics firm Next Big
Sound; marketing firm Topspin; Web radio services Slacker and Yahoo Music; and
distributors TuneCore and MediaNet.
"Technology has created infinite
possibilities for musicians to distribute and promote their music, but there
are fewer gatekeepers to identify quality acts and actually help them connect
to the opportunities that power a career," said Zalon.
"Hello Music
believes you need a team of industry professionals — real people — to
evaluate that music to find those artists whose careers will grow."
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