Former Spotify Exec Raises $5.5M for Interactive Music Startup

A Vinyl Bar in Shibuya, the “music (software) label” founded by former Spotify Head of Innovation Máuhan M. Zonoozy, has raised $5.5 million in a pre-seed round.

What it does:

• A Vinyl Bar in Shibuya is borrowing the record label model of releasing several singles leading up to an album – but instead of singles, it’s releasing apps.

• To complete the analogy, the “album” is the company’s eventual big consumer music app.

• The idea is to make music interactive: users could remix it, manipulate individual parts, play with friends, and otherwise participate in music rather than simply listen to it.

Baby steps:

• Shibuya doesn’t yet appear to have a single flagship product, but it has released several small experimental products to explore the idea.

• They include YouTube Sampler, which allows users to modify music from a YouTube video; Jam, a multiplayer music app where people can interact with music together; and Stacks, which allows the user to turn different elements of a song – beats, chords, vocals – on and off to create their own mix.

Investors:

• Shibuya has drawn early investment from The Chainsmokers’ Mantis Venture Capital, SV Angel, and Suno investor Quiet Capital, among others.