Last Monday, I stumbled upon Walter the Producer, an indie musician based in Boston. His music is not featured on any of the playlists I follow, and he has less than 150,000 monthly listeners on Spotify. If I hadn’t used Shazam to identify his song while I was 2,000 miles away from home in a brewery in Phoenix, I probably wouldn’t have discovered him.
Discovering new music has become something of a quest. Walter the Producer even jokes about this in his Spotify artist bio, stating, “If you gatekeep me I will hunt you down.” Historically, well-funded artists have had a significant advantage over independent musicians in terms of promotion. However, changes in algorithms at Spotify, the popularity of viral TikTok songs, and shifts in strategy at prominent music publications like Pitchfork and Rolling Stone have made promotion significantly more challenging.
The ease of music creation inspired the founders of Groover. Launched in 2018, this Paris-based startup serves as a platform to assist independent artists in promoting their work. The platform allows artists to submit their music to individual curators who can provide feedback and amplify music they believe in. Romain Palmieri, co-founder and CEO of Groover, stated that the company was created to address the promotion challenges they encountered in their own music careers.
Recently, Groover secured an $8 million Series A round of funding led by OneRagtime, Techmind, Trind, and Mozza Angels. Palmieri revealed that the company plans to use the funding to expand further into the U.S. – its largest market – and to introduce new features for artists, including coaching and promotion resources.
What makes Groover’s business model unique is that the 3,000 music curators on the platform set their own price. Each transaction is divided equally, with half of the funds going to the curator and half to Groover. Palmieri also mentioned that if a curator fails to listen to a song within seven days, the musician receives a refund, and that 90% of requests are answered within that timeframe.
While the concept of artists having direct relationships with curators is appealing, the idea of pay-to-play being the best option for independent artists is somewhat disheartening. It’s concerning that the curators on Groover are promoting music not only based on personal preference but also because they were paid to do so.
However, it’s important to recognize that music journalism is declining as the number of independent musicians continues to grow. While the system may not be perfect, it offers relatively inexpensive outreach and a high response rate, making it one of the most artist-friendly approaches outside of earned promotion.
Palmieri emphasized that the majority of independent artists simply do not have better or more cost-effective options. They can either persistently pitch to music publications with no guarantee of being noticed, or pay for PR, which does not guarantee success.
This model also benefits music curators, according to Palmieri, as they struggle to discover gems in the ever-expanding sea of new music. Groover’s system ensures they are compensated for their work and simplifies their jobs.
It’s encouraging to see efforts to address this issue, as discovering new music has become noticeably more challenging. Groover is not the only startup aiming to support small musicians – GigFinesse also helps musicians and venues streamline booking and payments for gigs.
Both Groover and GigFinesse offer clear solutions for both artists and industry professionals, fostering a community where each party can thrive. Every musician has to start somewhere, and startups like these play a crucial role in making that possible.
