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Disco hopes to help music lovers find the new artists they’ll love
Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Entrepreneur Darren Westlake believes the evolution of the music industry has led to a certain irony. “It’s never been so easy to access music and more music than ever is being released,” says Westlake, the founder of Disco, a new social media app aimed at music fans that will tomorrow unveil its first investment round. “On the other hand, people like me find it harder than ever to find new artists and bands that we really want to listen to.”
Westlake’s argument is that while people used to discover new music through friends and family, who might lend them records, cassettes or CDs, or play them new tunes at home, today’s streaming services have put an end to this. Equally, he says, the algorithms these services use to recommend new music to listeners – supposedly one of their best features – are actually pretty disappointing.
“I find their recommendations tend to be very narrow,” he complains. “They suggest artists that sound almost identical to those I already know, which isn’t great for discovering new things that are a bit different.”
This frustration was the inspiration for the launch of Disco earlier this year. It’s an app through which groups of people can follow each other’s listening habits, share recommendations, and even listen to each other’s favourite tracks. “It’s a bit like a musical version of Instagram,” Westlake explains. “You’re automatically getting a constant stream of ideas for new music based on what the people you know are listening to.”
Disco’s research suggests there is significant potential market for the concept. In a survey it conducted of music streamers, 38% said they struggled to find new music to listen to; 54% said they wanted selections of music curated by human beings rather than an algorithm.
Disco therefore provides a constant read-out of what connections in the group have just listened to. Each member of the group can also comment on this music. And where accounts are linked to the streaming service Spotify, it is also possible to use Disco to listen to the music that friends have shared.
“Many of us have grown up sharing mix tapes of our favourite artists with friends, but that requires time and effort,” Westlake says. “This way, people don’t have to do anything – they’re continuously sharing what they like.”
Westlake is best-known in the UK as the founder of Crowdcube, the equity crowdfunding platform that he launched with co-founder Luke Lang in 2011. One of Europe’s first such sites, it helped kickstart the growth of early-stage companies including fintechs Monzo and Revolut, and the restaurant chain Chilango, all of which raised money on the platform.
Westlake stood down as chief executive of Crowdcube at the beginning of last year. But now that he is looking for finance for his own venture, the platform is the obvious place to look. Disco’s funding round on the platform goes live tomorrow, with the company hoping to raise at least £150,000 from investors.
To reach that target, the business will need to convince people that is a commercially viable proposition rather than just a nice idea for small groups of friends. But Westlake sees several paths to monetisation. There will be opportunities to link up with sellers of gig tickets and merchandise targeting fans of particular artists, he suggests. Disco may be able upsell services through streaming services. Its data, subject to privacy and data safeguards, may also be valuable. And ultimately, the business could down the “freemium” route, offering free access for basic services and paid subscriptions to additional functionality.
First, however, Disco must prove it can reach critical mass. The app soft launched earlier this year to test the water and currently has around 500 users. Early adopters have been enthusiastic, Westlake says, with a significant proportion becoming regular users. “We’re helping them with an age-old problem,” he says. “How do I find the artists I’ve never heard of but who I’m going to love?”.
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