2017 Under the Radar: MusicSpoke scores thousands of sheet music sales
August 29, 2017 | Meghan LeVota
Editor’s note: Startland News picked 10 early-stage firms to spotlight for its annual Under the Radar startups list. The following is one of 2017’s companies. To view the full list, click here.
The sheet music publishing industry is worth more than $1 billion.
Yet when working with traditional publishers, composers hardly see any of that money. Models put revenue for publishers as high as 95 percent with only 5 percent slated for composers.
Jennifer Rosenblatt and Kurt Knecht say the trend is pushing composers toward self-publishing as an option, which is why they co-founded MusicSpoke in 2014. Since then, the platform offers more than 1,000 scores and has sold more than 85,000 units of sheet music from self-published composers.
MusicSpoke keeps 30 percent of the sheet music sales, which is significantly lower than traditional publishing fees the sheet music industry, Rosenblatt and Knecht said. The company has grown at an average annual rate of about 260 percent and has raised about $120,000 in investment capital to date.
After spending a decade in Lincoln, Nebraska, Rosenblatt and Knecht set up shop in Kansas City in July 2016. The pair thought their business’ new home would be a better place to grow MusicSpoke.
“We are delighted to be growing in KC,” Rosenblatt said. “We love the support for the arts and entrepreneurship KC provides. We are looking to hire and grow the team next year.”
Later in 2017, MusicSpoke is expected to launch the Icon Series, which involves a collection of scores curated by the industry’s influential conductors, Rosenblatt said. The firm’s tests show that sheet music promoted by an influencer can sell up to 400 percent better than top-selling scores that are not promoted.
Rosenblatt is a 2017 Pipeline Fellow, has participated in ScaleUP KC! and is a part of the Sprint Mentor Network.
Featured Business
2017 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Randy Wasinger wanted the 1952 Topps of NFTs; so the lifelong baseball card collector started coding (and Mark Cuban came calling)
Editor’s note: The following includes excerpts from “The Corporate Couch” podcast as part of a collaboration between host Jeff Pelaccio and Startland News to highlight Web3 companies and founders in the space. The 15-year-old boy within Randy Wasinger — so obsessed with baseball cards that he opened a card shop in downtown Russell, Kansas, to sell…
Kansas legislation banning DeepSeek passes to state Senate after swell of support in House
Editor’s note: This article was written for a class at the University of Kansas’ William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications and distributed through the Kansas Press Association. TOPEKA — A bill seeking to ban DeepSeek, a Chinese artificial intelligence chatbot, from state devices has advanced in the Kansas Legislature. HB 2313 passed…
Transportant picked a lane; now the Lenexa bus tech startup wants to conquer even more of the road
From the driver’s seat, Martin Staples is steering Lenexa-based Transportant toward rapid growth with its real-time, tech-driven approach, he said, bringing greater safety, communication, and efficiency to school buses and expanding the startup’s reach beyond its Midwest home region. Fueling Transportant’s plans to leave coast-to-coast tracks — and beyond — will be key, said Staples, who…
Pitch winners step into spotlight as PHKC helps emerging small biz owners shine on stage (Photos)
Jacquinta Nelson stood before a packed crowd at The Porter House KC’s Pitch Night this week, sharing her vision for S.T.E.P. Movement, a community-based step team designed to uplift young girls. Moments later, she was awarded a $4,000 grand prize. The recognition was deeply personal for Nelson, who is dedicated to mentoring youth to be…