A ‘next generation social music experience’ will be at the heart of a new subscription streaming platform, according to its creators – who have agreed a deal with a tech B2B partner of Beats Music, HMV and Songza.
CÜR Media, Inc has entered into a digital content streaming agreement with Medianet as it readies the launch of CÜR Music this year. MediaNet says the deal will ‘pave the way’ for CÜR Music to offer consumers access to a library of over 22 million licensed songs worldwide – presumably after MediaNet has secured licensing agreements specifically for the platform. [Update: Merlin, which represents the rights of independent labels worldwide, says it has not agreed a licensing deal with regards to CÜR.]
Figures behind US-based CÜR Music include MTV founder John A Lack (CÜR Media Chairman & Director) and former RCA Chairman/CEO Bob Jamieson (CÜR Media Vice Chairman & Director).
Jamieson said that CÜR will “take this vast library of creative energy… and present it to the marketplace in a totally different way – and make it fun.”
The platform, which has launched in Alpha in the US, is said to be a “hybrid streaming service” that “intersects internet radio services like Pandora and on-demand services like Spotify“.
MediaNet provides its content through licensing arrangements with major record labels, including Universal, Sony Music and Warner Music Group, as well as over 80,000 independent labels. MediaNet is also likely to manage back-end services for CÜR Music including licensing, royalty payments, reporting, encoding, and security.
Through its MN Open API, MediaNet provides similar rights administration services to platforms such as Beats Music, Songza, Target and Univision.
Tom Brophy, Founder and CEO of CÜR Media, commented, “This agreement with MediaNet is another important step forward for CÜR as we move toward the launch of CÜR Music, our next generation social music experience.
“As we work towards agreements with record labels and other content providers, giving our audience direct access to that content through one of the most robust libraries of music in the world is a critical component for our company as we position our CÜR Music app for its anticipated release later this year.
“We continue to work diligently on procuring additional content and developing unique features to push the boundaries of our application beyond traditional music streaming and into a completely immersive experience that will enable people to personalize, share, and create. We look forward to capitalizing on our vision and establishing CÜR Media as a leading platform in digital entertainment.”
Frank Johnson, CEO of MediaNet, commented, “We are excited to partner with the team at CÜR as they move toward the launch of their next generation music experience. By gaining access to our extensive library of songs, CÜR Music will be well positioned, from a content and royalty administration perspective, to foster the social sharing and creative aspects that will make it such a unique streaming music platform.
“We look forward to working together with CÜR to support their initial launch and all of their future growth plans, through our robust catalog fulfillment and royalty reporting capabilities.”Music Business Worldwide
