Kansas City Startup AudioAnywhere Launches Indiegogo Crowdfunding Initiative with $10,000 Goal

After successful beta testing in early 2012, AudioAnywhere, a Kansas City-based startup that simplifies the streaming music experience, has launched a crowdfunding campaign through one of the world’s largest global funding platforms, Indiegogo.

AudioAnywhere, a client of Kansas City-based technology startup accelerator Think Big Partners, is working to prove that listeners can enjoy a free music streaming experience while artists get adequately compensated through advertising-based royalties. Despite the popularity of sites like Pandora and Spotify, monetization of streaming music has been underwhelming. Streaming services are losing money and record labels are dissatisfied with meager royalty payments.

Kyle Johnson, Scott Johnson and Ryan Luckie have developed this innovative music platform and the revenue engine behind the scenes known as Bixy. By combining the two products, the team expects to revive the online music industry. AudioAnywhere plans to pay artists five times more than what they earn today through revenues generated by Bixy’s more effective audio and banner ads. Bixy will prove that streaming music can be a win-win-win for listeners, artists and advertisers.

 

“AudioAnywhere has a real opportunity to solve a big problem for the entire music industry, and ultimately the listening consumer,” said Herb Sih, co-founder of Think Big Partners. “By combining an easy-to-use, streaming music platform in a social environment with the ability to give consumers highly relevant advertising offers that make sense, AudioAnywhere may crack the code on making online music viable for everyone. Without figuring out how to pay artists and labels in a way that doesn’t hurt the consumer, eventually free online music may die and then everyone loses.” 

Increasingly, crowdfunding is becoming a mainstream method for financing and marketing a variety of new ventures. Confident in the crowdfunding trend, AudioAnywhere is excited to engage the Indiegogo community and hopes to raise $10,000 by October 6, 2012. With these funds, AudioAnywhere plans to first offer a radio feature that uses social data to decide what type of music a listener likes.  With the remainder of the $10,000 raise, AudioAnywhere will implement the system that automatically pays artists when people listen to their music.

“We felt that Indiegogo would be an excellent launch vehicle for AudioAnywhere,” said Kyle Johnson, CEO of AudioAnywhere. “We’re able to tell our story to an audience interested in music and technology and we’ll raise some money too.”

To express its gratitude to early supporters, AudioAnywhere is granting donors access to its streaming music platform before the general public. To view AudioAnywhere’s Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign and to donate to the startup’s $10,000 goal, please visit www.indiegogo.com/audioanywhere.  To learn more about AudioAnywhere, please visit www.audioanywhere.com.

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