Vienna-based music startup Record Bird has raised a “mid six-figure” funding round, and hired former Rdio and YouTube exec Stefan Baumschlager.
The company’s service notifies music fans about new releases and content from their favourite artists, using its mobile app and Facebook Messenger chatbot.
Record Bird raised its latest funding round from existing and new investors from business angel network startup300, and says it will use the investment to continue developing its apps, and growing its audience.
Baumschlager will play a key part in that process, having joined the company as head of growth. He was most recently manager for music publishing partnerships, EMEA for YouTube, with past roles as head of European partnerships at Rdio and head of music at Last.fm.
“Stefan has been on this journey multiple times already. Over the year’s he’s gained experience throughout multiple stages of growth, from a then small startup called Last.fm to Rdio to his last stop at YouTube, the biggest streaming platform on the planet,” said CEO Andreas Mahringer in a statement.
“The founders as well as everyone else from the team display a determined passion and dedication I haven’t seen since my early Last.fm days,” added Baumschlager.
Besides trying to attract more music fans, Record Bird is keen to forge partnerships with labels and artists, positioning itself as a more effective way to reach fans than larger social networks.
“Ask any music marketeer about their organic reach on social media and they will most likely pull a face that speaks volumes. I find it ludicrous that labels and artists spent considerable amount of money, effort and time in building their fanbases there and then are charged for the privilege of messaging all of them,” said Baumschlager.
“Record Bird’s company mission is the public promise that fans will never miss the new releases of the artists and bands they follow on Record Bird. Therefore we will never charge artists and labels to reach their existing fanbase.”
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