The emergence of startup Lyynks Music is a sign of where the music industry is in late 2013: a time when startups see value in presenting themselves as an ‘ethical alternative’ to Spotify for artists. The company has been given an op-ed space on Digital Music News to explain its plans for “a website/social media center combo where partners can post news/blog items, stream music and sell content – including audio, video, merchandise and concert tickets – at prices they set”, sounding like a mixture of a D2C tool like Topspin with a social/streaming network like Myspace. “Whereas a service like Spotify pays out a fraction of a penny per stream, artists, labels or managers can expect the overwhelming majority of revenue when they stream or sell content through our app,” claims the piece. More than the 70% of revenues paid out by most streaming services, presumably. What’s not said is how Lyynks Music’s business model will work, and how it plans to ensure music fans download its app to find the artists’ profiles and content. One to watch, but the ‘ethical Spotify’ pitch could be a double-edged sword when the nitty-gritty of the startup’s workings is understood.
Tools: platforms to help you reach new audiences
Tools: Kaiber
In the year or so since its launch, AI startup Kaiber has been making waves,…