SoundCloud acquires AI music startup, Musiio, to improve music discovery
Musiio will “help to identify talent and trends ahead of anybody else”.
Image: M4OS Photos / Alamy Stock Photo
Online audio platform SoundCloud has acquired Musiio, a Singapore-based AI music curation company, in a bid to improve its music discovery capabilities.
Founded in 2018 by Hazel Savage, a former streaming executive from Universal, and full stack developer Aron Pettersson, Musiio’s technology focuses on B2B audio reference search (AI that can “listen” to music), automated tagging, and playlisting tools for the music industry.
By “listening” to tracks at scale and by identifying characteristics and patterns, Musiio’s AI can help predict which songs a listener would want to hear next, meaning you are more likely to discover tracks you like, whether they’re from an established artist or the latest indie DJ.
While the terms of the deal are not disclosed, SoundCloud states that Musiio will “become core” to SoundCloud’s discovery experience and “help to identify talent and trends ahead of anybody else”.
Speaking to TechCrunch, SoundCloud President Eliah Seton said: “SoundCloud is a unique business. Its singular market position as both a music-streaming service for fans and an artists services business is unlike any other streamer. Meaning, it is the only platform that truly holds a direct relationship with artists and listeners.”
“SoundCloud is not only a legendary household name but also an artist forward business that I believe is the future of the new, holistic music industry,” said Savage in a press statement. “I am incredibly proud that after 4 years of building Musiio we are now part of SoundCloud.”
Last July, Musiio secured an undisclosed round of funding which gave the company a valuation of $10 million, up from $3.5 million in 2019.
Seton added that “SoundCloud hosts more music from more creators than any platform on the planet. Acquiring Musiio accelerates our strategy to better understand how that music is moving in a proprietary way, which is critical to our success.”
Savage and Pettersson will remain an integral part of operations, coming on board as VP, Music Intelligence and VP, AI and Machine Learning, respectively. SoundCloud will also be fully integrating Musiio’s employees, all of whom will retain their positions.
