[France] – Music search and discovery engine Deezer has raised €6.5 million in a second round of financing, bringing the total amount invested in the French upstart to approx. €12.2 million. The additional capital was raised from from AGF Private Equity and CM-CIC Capital Privé, thus joining the historical shareholders who make up the DOTCORP Asset Management funds.
Deezer is one of the most popular music services in Europe. Formerly known as BlogMusik, it ran into lots of legal trouble when it launched its free music streaming service a couple of years ago. However, unlike many other ventures of the kind the startup turned itself around, reached essential agreements with copyright associations, and ultimately relaunched as a ‘legitimately’ free music search engine back in August 2007.
As Orli Yakuel mentioned in the first part of her Guide To Music On The Web, Deezer is one of the most comprehensive music discovery services out there, combined with a slew of social features that have turned the site into a vibrant community of millions of music fans. Recently, rumors started to circulate (article in French) about an impending ‘Deezer Premium’ service, which would allow users to subscribe for €9.99 per month. That is, of course, the same price as a premium account for its major rival Spotify.
The company claims over 10 million users throughout Europe, more than half located in France, and more than one million downloads of its mobile apps.
It will be interesting to see if the extra funding will prove to be what the company needs to strengthen its foothold in Europe and rival Spotify effectively.
(Thanks to Ouriel for the tip)
