BOOMiO Introduces Music Sharing App With Major Label Support, New Promotional and Revenue Opportunities for Artists

SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwired - Dec 14, 2014) - BOOMiO, a new music-sharing and discovery app, launched today to bring the communal experience back to music, and to give people a fun and easy way to share full-length, licensed songs. BOOMiO gives artists and labels a new promotional avenue by allowing them to "BOOM" tracks to existing social channels including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. All tracks are playable in one tap, and because they are licensed, present a new revenue opportunity for artists and labels. 

BOOMiO is free to download from the iTunes store in the U.S. only. BOOMiO for Android will be available in early 2015.

"Even in today's mobile-first, streaming world, it's a challenge to share music and enjoy it with your friends," said Randy Kath, co-founder and CEO, BOOMiO. "BOOMiO is a simple, fun way to share full-length licensed tracks. Instagram changed the way we share photos by making it a fun, social experience -- with BOOMiO we're bringing a similar approach to music. We also know how important it is to have artists and labels behind us, and we've created a model that brings new promotional and monetization opportunities to the table."

At launch, BOOMiO will have more than one million of the most popular songs in its library, and will continue to ingest tracks from the major labels until all complete catalogs are available. BOOMiO's artist-first approach provides musicians with a new way to promote and monetize their music and engage with their biggest fans.

Created by music insiders, technology executives, and serial entrepreneurs, BOOMiO is the first dedicated music-sharing app to launch with full support from the major labels. 

HOW IT WORKS
Users search for a song of their choice then "BOOM" (share) it to a friend, a group of friends, or across their other social networks. At the end of each song, the recipient is given a call to action: re-share for another play or purchase the song via the Apple iTunes store. Unlike existing music services, you don't need to have a BOOMiO account to play songs that are shared with you -- tracks are playable in one tap. BOOMiO operates as a "virtual jukebox" where users can easily build friend-sourced playlists that can be added to in real time. This scenario is ideal for parties, road trips, workouts and other social situations, and lends itself well to potential brand integrations and sponsorships.

Inside the app is a robust messaging application where users can communicate one to one or one to many (group threads) with anyone in their BOOMiO network (either "friend" or "follower"). Music can be shared directly within these threads and across outside social channels via "crowd booms."

"I've spent my entire career in radio, with an eye towards helping artists and labels find innovative ways to promote themselves, engage with fans, and ultimately monetize their work," said Bob Case, co-founder and EVP of Content at BOOMiO. "For artists and labels, finding new ways to connect with fans and deliver an experience around the content they've created is always the goal. Combining promotion and revenue with an experience that fans love is like the holy grail, and we're excited to see artists and labels responding to us as positively as they are."

ARTIST PLATFORM
BOOMiO gives artists a new way to promote and share their music. Additionally, BOOMiO's Verified Artist program gives artists access to a custom metrics dashboard unique to BOOMiO and unlike anything else offered by streaming services. This dashboard provides artists with real-time analytics that they can use to track a song by shares, plays, or purchases, and also includes heat maps, geographic data, and more.

AD MODELS
To follow through on its promise of an artist-centric, free, social music experience, BOOMiO is constructed around a model that compensates artists when their work is shared. The experience is built around a value exchange in which users get something -- another play -- in return for engaging with the ad. Brands have several ways to integrate themselves into the platform, including on the homepage, when a user gets to the end of a BOOM List, or to start a crowdsourced BOOM List of their own.

"BOOMiO adds a new layer in music consumption," said PJ Pedroni, co-founder and EVP of Sales at BOOMiO. "We are moving away from the 'set it and forget it' listening experience to a screen-facing, user engagement that creates an opportunity to connect music with brands using a value exchange. Like music, brands have become a big part of a person's identity. Until now there hasn't been a reason for a brand to be integrated into a one-to-one or one-to-many chat. BOOMiO naturally integrates brands with one of the things we love most: Music."

TWEET THIS: Music discovery and sharing changes today. @BOOMiOmusic is now live

ABOUT BOOMIO:
BOOMiO is the first music platform of its kind and the new way to share and discover music. The platform, which has licensing deals with the major labels, allows users to share millions of original, full-length, licensed tracks to a friend, group of friends, or everyone they know, and to their other social networks. Users can follow their favorite artists to hear new music straight from the source and be the first to send the songs to their friends. BOOMiO was founded in 2014 by Randy Kath, Bob Case, and PJ Pedroni. To learn more about BOOMiO visit www.boomio.com or follow @BOOMiOmusic on Twitter.