Doughty Hanson tunes into SoundCloud

Doughty Hanson Technology Ventures has invested €2.5m into SoundCloud, an online platform connecting musicians to promoters.

The Berlin-based service enables users to send, receive and distribute music without filling up their email inbox. Launched last year, the site has more than 100,000 registered users.

Nigel Grierson, co-managing director and founder of the Doughty Hanson Technology Fund, said: “SoundCloud connects hundreds of thousands of musicians with hundreds of thousands of promoters. It is to music what Galileo and Amadeus are to travel.”

Founded in 2007 with seed backing from business angels including music producer Chris Zippel, internet entrepreneurs Christophe Maire, Peter Schüpbach, Tariq Krim and Felix Petersen, and the founders of music production software company Ableton AG

Stefan Tirtey, partner at Doughty Hanson Technology Ventures and now board member of SoundCloud, said: “SoundCloud has all the qualities we look for in a business: a solid product solving a real problem, a proven business model, and a capable and ambitious founder team. We believe that Soundcloud has the potential to revolutionize the production and distribution process for digital music and this funding will enable the company to build on its success to date.”