Former Record Label Worker Having Success With Unsigned Artist Startup

exposedvocalsNew York is the hub for all things music in the US. That’s where New York entrepreneur Randy Morano got his feet wet working with record labels, PR firms, and management firms.  Morano drew on this experience to help unsigned artists get discovered through his startup ExposedVocals.

We realize there are hundreds of entrepreneurs who are trying to tackle the connection between unsigned artists and record labels. However, Morano has seen real quality metrics to date. Exposed Vocals has over 25,000 regular members and 5,000 participating in their upgraded paid membership.

We got a chance to spend some time with Morano back in May during TechCrunch Disrupt NYC and have stayed in contact with him over the summer. During that time he’s been on the grind putting together extensive promotional packages designed to help artists really get discovered.

Part of the success he’s seen so far comes from his real life experience with record labels. There are a lot of unsigned artist startups that were started by music fans. Morano has some advantages in knowing parts of the business, like what A&R people in 2013 are really looking for.

We got a chance to talk with Morano indepth. Check out the interview below.

What is your startup called?

Exposed Vocals (ExposedVocals.com)

What does your company do?

Exposed Vocals is an unsigned artist music video platform that uses an algorithm to analyze information contained within user profiles and suggests potential connections between musicians, bands and industry professionals. After members create their profiles, the software automatically alerts relevant users notifying them of someone matching their interests. (Music Industry Matchmaking) We also offer marketing tools, digital distribution and networking opportunities as well.

Who are the founders, and what are their backgrounds

Founder: Randy Morano, young entrepreneur that has worked with Record Labels, Management firms and PR Reps for the past 5 years in an effort to help shine the spotlight on unsigned artists.

Where are you based?

We are based out of New York City

What’s the startup scene like where you are based?

New York City is mostly known as a hub for media, advertising, or finance companies. There are a multitude of the name brand investment firms out here – Union Square, RRE, First Round, FlyBridge, Lerer Ventures, First Mark, and Bessemer among others. This is an amazing ecosystem for startups and a close 2nd to SV and really helps bridge the funding gap. It’s a thriving scene!

What problem do you solve?

So, the problem is this ever widening gap between Unsigned Musicians and Record Labels. Exposed Vocals solves this problem by creating a sort of bridge, if you will. This is done by providing real world solutions to help expose underground and unsigned artists and bands to Music Industry Professionals in a real offline way. This includes Targeted Promotional Packages, FM and online Radio Play, Music Industry Matchmaking (Premium upgrade) and Individual Member Interview Opportunities with Exposed Vocals to help beef up their press packs.

Why now?

The music Industry has changed and there is a huge new push for digital music streaming and with social networking becoming the #1 way for self promotion due to it being extremely light on the wallet – it was only a matter of time before a company like Exposed Vocals emerged.

What are some of the milestones your startup has already reached?

Exposed Vocals has just reached 25,000 members with close to 5,000 participating in our premium match making service ($2.99 a month). We’re getting on average 7,000 visits a day due to our intensive promotional package plan that pull in targeted views for enrolled members and other members promoting their videos and sending traffic to their interview pages.

What are your next milestones?

Our next step is focused on venture capital. We need more tools developed ensure our members are supplied with the best tools in our industry. We’ve been plugging away at stabilizing our revenue streams by bringing in new clients and continuing to grow our user-base and content. We will be focusing more on our Global Marketing Initiative that has been slowly picking up speed. Currently, we are ranking (Alexa) about 20K in the U.S and 120K in the world – we’d like to see that global figure come down a lot so that we can focus on delivering targeted ads to our members.

Where can people find out more? Any social media links you want to share?

Exposedvocals.com and our Facebook page is here.

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