Swedish startup Amuse, co-founded by will.i.am, has announced that Edgar Berger, the former Chairman and CEO of Sony Music International, has joined its board.
The news comes as Stockholm-based Amuse closes a €3.5m Series A funding round.
Dharmash Mistry, Partner at Lakestar and Jörg Mohaupt from Access Industries who was Amuse Founding Investor and participated in this round also joins the board.
Amuse dubs itself ‘the world’s first mobile record company’. It offers a free app for Android and iOS that musicians can use to distribute and keep track of their music and royalties on all major music streaming services globally.
According to the company: ‘By analyzing music consumption data of artists distributed through the app, Amuse finds interesting and upcoming artists that otherwise can be very difficult to discover. Amuse then offers a partnership including a royalty advance and marketing commitment to help the selected artists take the next step in their careers. Signed artists get a license deal and always keep ownership of their work.’
“Amuse is the brand-new and brilliant partner to all unsigned artists around the world offering immediate global distribution and monetization of their work.”
Edgar Berger (pictured)
Edgar Berger exited Sony after 12 years in January.
Said Berger: “Amuse is the brand-new and brilliant partner to all unsigned artists around the world offering immediate global distribution and monetization of their work.
“As the world’s first mobile record label it operates with a special focus on transparency. First signings are showing great results. Diego and the team are going for all the right things and are determined to make a splash.”
Diego Farias, CEO at Amuse said: “Lakestar and Edgar’s passion for the transformative digital music scene align perfectly with ours.
“Edgar is a global music leader whose experience will be important for Amuse as we embark on our international expansion journey. We look forward to working with Edgar and Lakestar on the execution of our shared vision.”
Edgar Berger was named President & CEO, International, Sony Music Entertainment, by Doug Morris in 2011.
Berger previously served as CEO, Sony Music Entertainment, GSA Region, overseeing the company’s operations in Germany, Switzerland and Austria.
Before this, he was CEO of Sony Music Entertainment Germany, while from 2000 until 2005, he held a series of executive roles at Bertelsmann AG, including Executive Vice President.Music Business Worldwide
