According to the Wall Street Journal, CÜR Media has received ”licenses from all three major record companies, giving them a collective $8 million in advance money.”
In addition to the $8 million advances, CÜR has given each record company a ”5% stake in the company.” However, despite receiving such a high volume of investment cash, CÜR Media ”still needs to raise more money to launch the service”, says Tom Brophy, CÜR’s chief executive.
Brophy says low monthly price points were ”the centerpiece of his pitch when he started licensing negotiations with record companies several years ago.” Accordingly, CÜR will have three tiers, one called “Octo” which will be priced at $1.99 a month that includes ”eight on-demand songs a day,” and will also feature a custom radio similar to that of Pandora’s. The other two tiers will be priced at $4.99 and $9.99 a month.
The low price, along with CÜR’s strong social components, which allow users to share songs with attached photos and short personal videos, are a definite way to attract young consumers, like college students for instance. ”Octo” is targeting the younger demographic who may not have the disposable income to pay for other streaming services, like Spotify, Apple and Tidal.
It will be interesting to see how CÜR plans to get the service off the ground. It may continue to sell stakes in the company to raise the rest of the money it requires. It is unknown at this stage exactly where this vital money is going to come from.
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