7 Failed Music Startups & their Case Studies
There are a lot of things to consider when building a new startup - where to get funding, how to validate your idea, and what features should the product have.
One of the challenges is finding a market that is willing to pay for your solution without even knowing what it is yet.
However, 90% of startups will fail and shut down.
In this article, you can find 7 failed Music startups as well as analyses on why they closed down.
7 Failed Music Startups
1) Crowdmix
Crowdmix was a music streaming platform where people could listen and talk about their favorite bands. They spent £14M before having a working product.
Details of the startup:
- Founders: Gareth Ingham, Ian Roberts
- Country: United Kingdom
- Started in: 2013
- Closed in: 2016
- Nº of employees: 100-250
- Funding Amount: $10M-$50M
- Specific cause of failure: Mismanagement of Funds
You can read more about their failure here.
2) Grooveshark
Grooveshark was a streaming music platform. Its major weakness was that it illegally streamed music. They were sued multiples times and had to shut down.
Details of the startup:
- Founders: Andres Barreto, Josh Greenberg, Sam Tarantino
- Country: United States
- Started in: 2006
- Closed in: 2015
- Nº of employees: 50-100
- Funding Amount: $1M-$10M
- Specific cause of failure: Legal Challenges
You can read more about their failure here.
3) Radar Radio
Radar Radio, a hub for emerging music talent online, ceased operations amidst a debt of £3.6M. Here's their story.
Details of the startup:
- Founders: Ollie Ashley
- Country: United Kingdom
- Started in: 2008
- Closed in: 2018
- Nº of employees: 10-50
- Funding Amount: $0
- Specific cause of failure: Mismanagement of Funds
You can read more about their failure here.
4) Rdio
Rdio, a music streaming platform, failed due to poor marketing and distribution, ultimately folding to competition from Spotify and closing down.
Details of the startup:
- Founders: Carter Adamson, Janus Friis, Niklas Zennström
- Country: United States
- Started in: 2008
- Closed in: 2015
- Nº of employees: 50-100
- Funding Amount: > $50M
- Specific cause of failure: Competition
You can read more about their failure here.
5) Sharingear
Sharinger was a marketplace for musicians to rent their instruments. They focused on a market that was too small and the business model was unsustainable.
Details of the startup:
- Founders: Mircea Gabriel Eftemie
- Country: Denmark
- Started in: 2014
- Closed in: 2015
- Nº of employees: 1-10
- Funding Amount: < $1M
- Specific cause of failure: Multiple Reasons
You can read more about their failure here.
6) Stereomood
Stereomood was a music platform that provided mood-based song listings. The company was acquired but they weren’t able to make a profit.
Details of the startup:
- Founders: Daniele Novaga, Eleonora Viviani, Giovanni Ferron, Maurizio Pratici
- Country: Italy
- Started in: 2009
- Closed in: 2015
- Nº of employees: 10-50
- Specific cause of failure: Acquisition Flu
You can read more about their failure here.
7) Turntable.fm
Turntable.fm was a platform on which DJ and fans were brought together. The cost of running it proved to be too expensive and they had to shut down.
Details of the startup:
- Founders: Billy Chasen
- Country: United States
- Started in: 2011
- Closed in: 2013
- Nº of employees: 1-10
- Funding Amount: $1M-$10M
- Specific cause of failure: Bad Business Model
You can read more about their failure here.
