Brandery grad Soundstr nabs over $1 million in funding

Cincinnati-based music tech startup Soundstr has secured $1.1 million in seed financing from investors that include entertainment data and technology companies Gracenote and Accelerant, as well as unnamed angel investors.

Soundstr was founded by Eron Bucciarelli-Tieger, the former drummer for indie punk band Hawthorne Heights.
 
In May, Soundstr was awarded an initial investment from CincyTech, which the startup used to launch the production of its tablet-like devices.

The devices plug directly into a venue’s sound system. It uses music recognition technology to identify songs and catalog actual music usage, which in turn helps venues and other businesses to negotiate fairer licensing/usage fees that are charged by performing rights organizations.
 
“Disruption is an overused term, but in this case, it truly fits,” said CincyTech's director, Doug Groh. “We cannot imagine many areas more ready for disruption than this. We saw that the current methods of determining music licensing fees and royalty payments were both grossly unfair and highly inefficient. (Soundstr founder) Eron (Bucciarelli-Tieger) showed a deep understanding of all of the players involved — artists, venues, music publishers and fans — and their motivations.”
 
Soundstr is currently being used in several pilot venues nationally. The company is now taking pre-orders for a planned official launch in January 2017. Visit Soundstr's website for more information and a free trial.