Social Music Startup Crowdmix Is Going Under

Before it ever really got a chance to properly launch, it looks like the story is over for social music startup Crowdmix, which was touted as one of the most exciting new companies in the industry.

Despite collecting a fair amount of money for a music-focused startup over the few years it was around, the company is facing serious financial issues, and the London-based firm is now set to be placed into administration. Crowdmix reportedly raised a $14 million round of funding some time ago, and it was looking for more in order to stay in business recently, but the money hasn’t come through. Yesterday, those in charge at the company spoke with staff and explained that within a short period of time, Crowdmix would be no more. In addition to all employees losing their jobs (the company currently employs over 100 people), they are reportedly not going to be paid for the month of June, which proves how much trouble the firm is in.

Crowdmix was founded in 2014 as a platform for people to not only listen to the music they love, but also discuss it. After over a year of development, the company finally launched an invitation-only beta just this past May.

The idea behind Crowdmix is a great one, and it’s a shame that the world won’t get to know it as the founders intended. But even though it won’t be able to continue on its own, that doesn’t mean that it is completely dead and gone. There is a chance that one of the larger streaming platforms could snap up the technology and the personnel involved in the company in order to bring an element of social chatter and meeting people to streaming platforms. Streaming music has been exploding in popularity over the past few years, but one criticism (out of many) is that the platforms that are performing the best right now are severely lacking in social features. Sharing streaming content on social media isn’t very easy, and companies like Spotify, Apple Music, Pandora , and many others haven’t invested in making their sites very social.

Crowdmix's demise underlines how difficult it has become for music startups to survive in the industry these days, even when they come prepared with some of the brightest minds in the business, a full war chest, and the high hopes of many interested parties. Over the past few years, keeping a startup alive in today's music economy has become tougher and tougher, and those difficulties are multiplied when the company is involved in streaming, which is a subject that is touchy for the industry's gatekeepers and very difficult to manoeuvre.