CrowdTunes is taking a smartphone approach to the jukebox.
Duke University startup CrowdTunes is looking to change the way in which songs are played in bars – and make money in the process. The company’s app, free as in beer to pubs and bars, lets customers purchase credits which they can use to bid on songs.
The software, which came out of the Programme for Entrepreneurs at Duke University’s Fuqua College of Business, lets users control playlists by paying money: the song with the highest bids is put to the top of the queue. The service, which provides CrowdTunes with a 40% margin due to music licensing, has already seen users paying up to a combined $20 for some songs.
The company is currently focused on firmly establishing itself in the region before expanding further afield. They are also first trying to raise $500,000 for more music licensing and scaling – so far, the company has been funded through the investors’ savings, and a grant from Duke University. The company pitched to investors at Google headquarters in early June 2014.
On 5 June 2014, CrowdTunes was announced one of six winners of the NC Idea competition, a North Carolina grant worth a total of $270,000.