MusicHype is a platform for bands and their fans to interact directly with each other and build valuable relationships. It takes a novel approach that integrates existing music and social networks into a cohesive, interactive, and fun online experience for music fans.

Disclosure: I’m a significant investor in MusicHype, and Chairman of its board – [Dave]

The Pitch:
The music industry is changing rapidly: Bands find it hard to engage with fans and make money online, fans find it hard to access the music they love in a sea of visual and aural noise, and labels find it hard to maintain relevance.

MusicHy.pe is an efficient and entertaining promotional distribution platform that enables major bands to connect directly with their fans and make money online. MusicHype is creating the new music industry bringing bands and fans together online and offline.

For fans, we aggregate relevant music and news in a curated experience that spans existing social networks and music services. Fans can take part in competitions, listen to and watch live and recorded gigs, buy gig tickets, merchandise and digital music, collaborate with bands to help create album artwork, videos and songs, and increase social status and music cred with through our loyalty points system.

MusicHype delivers direct sales revenue and increases audiences for bands using our integrated social media promotion and sales platform. Bands working with MusicHype use our platform to implement album and tour promotions while reaching across Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and the wider web.

MusicHype is a game-changing model, built on globally and scalable technology, backed by a dedicated and internationally experienced team.

Accomplishments to date:

We’ve validated the business model albeit on a small scale in New Zealand.  After our first outing with the iconic NZ band The Mint Chicks, we’ve produced some brilliant metrics.  In our first three months, working with one band, we achieved:

• 24,902 site visits
• 11,183 unique visitors
• 5:04 minutes average time on site
• 1740 members (15.5% conversion rate)
• Excellent montisation per member at significant gross margins.

We have been approached by numerous bands and labels in New Zealand and overseas who want to work with us.

Development plans:

• We plan on launching in North America as soon as possible
• We will be seeking a US-based CEO for that operation
• Rapid scale

Key Challenges:

• Deploying on-the-ground resources in North America
• Speed to market
• Selecting the optimal growth rate

Principals & Previous Experience:

Jeff Mitchell – MD & Solutions Architect – Jeff has over 10 years of experience in web application development and management. Jeff’s expertise lies in platform development and strategy, social network integration and mobile technology.

Annabel Youens – Digital Strategist – Annabel has been working with e-commerce sites and online social communities before they were buzz words. Annabel’s expertise lies in communications, community management and business development.

Dave Moskovitz – Chairman – Dave has founded and funded numerous online startups, and is passionate about rebuilding a sustainable music industry. As Chairman of WebFund, Dave brings extensive experience, capability, and networks into the mix.

What they want from an investor:

MusicHype is seeking NZD 400K in equity to enable a North American launch.  The ideal investor will have some music industry experience and contacts, and be want investment exposure to creative / collaborative communities and social media.

Who the offer is open to:

The offer is open to eligible persons as defined in Section 5 (2CC) of the Securities Act 1978 who invest either directly or syndicated through AngelHQ / AngelLink.

Contact details:

Marie-Claire Andrews, AngelHQ
Email: Marie-Claire.Andrews@growwellington.co.nz
Tel: +64 21 81 4224

Note: If you plan to act on any information on this site, please be sure to read the disclaimer.

AngelLink, a national angel investment network backing New Zealand high growth technology ventures, with an emphasis on life sciences, engineering and ICT, welcomes the inclusion of the Life Science Angels Network into its structure. The move is designed to create greater scale and focus in the life sciences angel investment space.

AngelLink’s members include some of the country’s leading biotechnology and high technology investors including Movac, K1W1 and Sparkbox. AngelLink has also partnered with the NZ Venture Investment Fund (NZVIF) through its Seed Co-Investment Fund.

AngelLink Chairman Chris de Boer says, “Our national network of angel investors and international partnerships provide excellent leverage for high-growth potential start-up companies that are seeking to develop unproven markets or technologies. Life sciences are a key part of AngelLink’s focus. The inclusion of the Life Science Angels Network helps AngelLink achieve greater scale and expertise in this area. As a result we’ll see more investment activity in the life sciences space which will benefit the network and the sector in New Zealand.”

The Life Science Angels Network was created by a collaboration between NZBIO, ICE Angels and Auckland Plus to validate the concept of creating a virtual network of angel investors who are interested in investing in life science technology deals.

Andy Hamilton, Director, ICE Angels says, “When it comes to early stage funding there is a case for some sectors, such as life sciences, to have specialisation. The ongoing viability of the sector depends on its ability to raise funds from a variety of sources and to complete value-creating deals. This access to funding is consistently one of the key constraints identified across the bioeconomy in New Zealand yet, based on international experiences angel investment has the ability to be a key part of the funding solution.”

“Having validated the need for The Life Science Angels Network we readily came to the conclusion that the natural home for the network was actually AngelLink as they already have in place a number of critical partnerships for deal flow in the life sciences space. As a small country we need to take every opportunity to achieve scale.”

The merger will include all research, contacts and emerging international partnerships, including the Australian Life Science Angel Network, Life Science Angels Inc (USA) and Bansea, Singapore.

NZBIO, the national bioscience industry group, has applauded the transfer to AngelLink.

Chief Executive Bronwyn Dilley says, “AngelLink’s strong focus on life sciences and nationwide coverage will be further strengthened by the inclusion of the Life Science Angels Network. Angel Investment is an important part of the investment landscape and a strong, focused approach is vital to the success of a mature New Zealand life science industry. It’s great to see AngelLink continue to gain momentum, as the result will be more early stage life science projects are spun out of the lab into the market with benefits to all.”

AngelLink, which was initiated by WaikatoLink, the commercial arm of the University of Waikato, connects investees to the full continuum of funding through its lifecycle from science to market spanning proof of concept, angel investment, early stage venture capital, expansion stage venture capital, and public markets.

AngelLink was launched at a function at NZX in August. The Minister for Research, Science and Technology, Wayne Mapp was the guest of honour.

At the launch, WaikatoLink Chief Executive Mark Stuart said, “At an industry level there is a real need to make some improvements to generate more economic benefit from life sciences and technology research. We need to start with the end in mind and bring the market in from the start. We need to encourage a co-ordinated approach and funding models that encourage collaboration rather than competition. AngelLink represents a step change in early stage company investment by formalising visibility to upcoming investment opportunities to all of the partners across the investment continuum”.

Dr Mapp said, “The highest priority for the New Zealand Government is growth. Future opportunities will depend on innovation and entrepreneurship and much of this comes from fundamental science. AngelLink will connect research and investors with the intent of getting science to the marketplace. Our future prosperity depends on getting this right.”

The first Australasian Life Science Angels Network Meeting today in Queenstown, part of the annual summit organised by the Angel Association of New Zealand, is the setting for the first meeting between AngelLink, the Australian Life Science Angel Network and Bansea, Singapore.

As foreshadowed earlier this year, The Power of Angel Investing course is coming to Hamilton on 12 October.

People attending the course will:

• Discover how to get the most out of your Angel investments and what the opportunities are in the current economic climate.
• Find out how to avoid the most common mistakes that Angels make.
• Exchange ideas and share experiences with like minded individuals.
• Gain inspiration through the tales from the front line from leading Angel investors.
• Learn how to build value in your portfolio, manage the due diligence process, negotiate and structure the deal.
• Hear about a new fund, The Halo Fund #1,which allows investors access to a diversified portfolio of early stage NZ investments and future deal flow.

The course is aimed at:

• Successful entrepreneurs who have exited from their businesses and have an interest in staying involved in early stage companies.
• High net-worth individuals with senior business experience who now have the time and interest in investing in early stage companies.
• Angel investors who have done from one to three deals.
• Community leaders and entrepreneurial support professionals who are interested in promoting angel investing in their communities.

Cost: $225 (incl GST)

Download the course brochure, or get more info from Dawn Murphy.

This week’s launch of AngelLink could mark a pivotal moment in the development of New Zealand’s innovation space.

Conceived and managed by WaikatoLink, AngelLink is a new national angel investment network specifically designed to commercialise intellectual property from universities and CRI’s, and is backed by the country’s most experienced and well-resourced hi-tech and biotech investors.

It brings New Zealand angel investment to the next level.

This is exciting news for a number of reasons:

• Movac, K1W1, Sparkbox, Neville Jordan, Waikato University, AUT, and SCIF are coming together to actively collaborate. While these players have co-invested with each other on a tactical basis before, this is the first time they’ve all agreed to work together in a more formal, strategic framework.
• Research institutions generate considerable intellectual property that until now has never seen the light of day, due to limited resources and commercialisation experience in the niche investment spaces and geographic locations that they occupy. A national network will increase the likelihood of successful commercialisation of some of New Zealand’s best IP.
• Conversely, angel investors nationwide have had limited access to university-sourced IP. AngelLink will give access to opportunities to a wider group of experienced investors.

The common theme is that all of the stakeholders – inventors, entrepreneurs, incubators, investors, and government – all understand that there are huge gains to be realised by working together, and have the appetite to make it happen. People realise that the pie can be made disproportionately bigger by relinquishing some ownership and control.

There’s a word for that – maturity.

And the experience and professionalism is evident from the start. AngelLink achieved SCIF accreditation prior to launch. Although based in the Waikato, they chose to launch at NZX in Wellington to underscore the national nature of the network. AngelLink is not a small club of wealthy dentists and farmers. At the launch, Chris de Boer, AngelLink’s chairman, said that he’d never seen such a broad spectrum of New Zealand investors in one room, ever. The gathering included people like Wayne Mapp (Minister of Science Research and Technology), Mark Weldon (CEO NZX), Franceska Banga (CEO NZVIF), Sir John Anderson (Chancellor Waikato University), Jim Bolger (Chairman NZ Post), Neville Jordan (Endeavour Capital), Mark Stuart (CEO WaikatoLink), Greg Sitters (Sparkbox), Phil McCaw and David Beard (Movac), Suse Reynolds (Angel HQ), John Errington (CEO VicLink), as well as a number of familiar faces from the local Wellington angel scene. Exposure to the entire investment food chain is compelling.

Chris said that they already have pipeline with four deals ready to go on day one.

There is some potential risk in setting up a new national angel network that has some overlap with the existing regional clubs. Some of New Zealand’s fledgling angel clubs are struggling to achieve and maintain critical mass, both in terms of investment capacity and ability to attract quality opportunities. But that shouldn’t be a problem so long as AngelLink sticks to institutional IP, and doesn’t compete with clubs for deals coming from local incubators and garage entrepreneurs. Syndication is all about sharing expertise, resources, risk and reward in such a way that everyone benefits.

And if AngelLink continues in the same manner as it has started, everyone will benefit from commercialising previously hidden IP.

New Zealand will be the winner.