News

Benchmark funds online music marketplace

Benchmark Capital Europe has backed Ricall in the music research and licensing company’s first institutional funding round. The size of the investment was not disclosed. Ricall acts as an online marketplace, bringing together professional buyers and sellers of music via its website to facilitate the licensing of music for business uses such as advertising, films, mobile ringtones, video games and corporate productions.

The funding will be used to expand Ricall’s commercial music user network, market the brand and develop its proprietary technology. The company was set up in 1998 by Richard Corbett, who previously worked at record company Famous Music Publishing.

Typically, obtaining permission to use a track is a complicated procedure requiring copyright permission from several sources. Ricall allows its users to preview a wide range of music and licence it for use quickly and easily, playing a flat fee via the company’s website.

Ricall has more than 3 million tracks in its music archive. More than 3,500 record companies and 22,000 music publishers use the site.