Groover has legitimized ‘pay to play’ promo for independent musicians
Always be skeptical of any opportunity that’s remotely “pay to play.” Shouldn’t a playlist curator, radio programmer, or music journalist review, choose to play, or reject music without getting paid by the artist to do it?
But the cold, hard truth is they don’t.
In fact, with 120,000 tracks released daily, they can’t.
Groover, which just raised $8 million in funding, has been working to solve that problem by connecting artists with 3000 music professionals to get direct feedback on their work. Since its launch, 350,000 independent artists from 180 countries have received 4 million personalized reviews.
Groover charges just over $2.00 for each piece of personalized feedback, and if the chosen curator doesn’t respond in 7 days, there’s no charge. Curators are paid about half of that $2 for feedback of 15 words or more.
In addition to feedback and potential networking opportunities, artists can also quote these reviews in their promo material.
Even the best-written pitch is much more powerful when a professional endorsement is attached, and as someone who has worked with new artists for decades, getting those first quotes and reviews has become incredibly difficult.
Groover adds new services
In addition to expanding to more countries, Groover will use its new funding to add two services that it has been testing in recent months.
Groover Club offers coaching, masterclasses, and personalized follow-up sessions to 1,000 artists in France and the US to help artists increase their visibility with detailed advice.
Groover Obsessions will provide more comprehensive career development opportunities to handpicked promising artists using the platform. Among the 300 artists currently supported by Groover Obsessions are Gorillaz’s bassist, Seye Adelekan, indie band Faux Real, up-and-coming musician ZOLA, and Swiss Olympic snowboarder and indie folk artist Pat Burgener.
“The success of this funding round represents a crucial step in our journey,” says Groover’s co-founder and CEO, Romain Palmieri. “With these new investments, Groover is poised to write a new chapter, solidifying its position as a global reference in music promotion. Our goal is to provide independent artists with an all-in-one platform supported by innovative features and services and keep accelerating our international development in North America, Europe and Latin America.”
Groover’s $8 million series A round was led by OneRagtime, Trind, Techmind, and MozzaAngels and supported by historical backers, Partech, Bpifrance’s Tech & Touch fund, Verve Ventures, and Frenchfounders.
Bruce Houghton is the Founder and Editor of Hypebot, a Senior Advisor at Bandsintown, President of the Skyline Artists Agency, and a Berklee College Of Music professor.
