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
Why employers should hire veterans: KC entrepreneurs say combat prepared them for startup life
Effectively communicating the skills and experiences gained from military service can be a major challenge for veterans, said Zachary Oshinbanjo. Too often that disconnect contributes to unemployment or mental health struggles when a service member returns to civilian life. “Many veterans may have gone straight from high school into the military and now are looking…
How did KC land Meta, Panasonic megaprojects? Infrastructure, energy and enthusiasm, companies say
Kansas City is one of America’s most exciting and dynamic cities, said Matt Sexton, making it the ideal choice to build out a nearly 1 million-square-foot data center for Meta, the tech behemoth behind Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.. “There are a lot of sites around the country that might have one or two qualities that…
Bank partners with Porter House to give out more than hugs; Meet four latest KC grant recipients
Cameron Martin understands the importance of scaling deep into the community that inspired his journey and first fed the business he built with his wife, Tameisha, he said. The co-owners of Love is Key — a waffle-centric brunch restaurant and catering concept in the former Soulcentricitea space on Troost Avenue — were awarded a $15,000…
Cannabis biz expected to grow like a weed after MO voters light recreational marijuana
Tuesday’s vote in favor of recreational marijuana in Missouri shows Kansas City’s obvious appetite for legalization, said Michael Wilson, whose cannabis startup sees a vast new market opened by the election outcome. Statewide, Missouri poll-goers this week approved the high-profile constitutional amendment with 53.1 percent of the more than 2 million votes cast. In Kansas…