Classical music streaming service Idagio raises €8 million

Idagio, a classical music streaming service, has raised €8 million in a Series A round from Tengelmann Ventures, Mülheim/Ruhr, btov Partners, and a number of angel investors.

Classical music is not well-served in the current digital streaming landscape, said Till Janczukowicz, CEO of the German company.

“Search criteria such as composer, work, conductor, orchestra, soloist etc. that are inherent to classical music are missing in the metadata structure of all-genre streaming services,” he said. “Consequently classical music lovers have to tolerate frequently incorrect search results, resulting in a poor user experience.

“Classical musicians and their recordings are only found with difficulty, if at all. We have come up with a technological solution which makes experiencing classical music simple, convenient and accessible to everyone.”

The paid service, launched in 2015, currently lists 140,000 recordings and compensates rightsholders on a play-per-second basis.

“We were convinced from the very beginning that IDAGIO had identified a major need of classical music lovers and provides a solution with genuine added value,” commented Jochen Gutbrod of btov Partners.