BYTA Adds $1.4M For Secure Digital Audio Transfer

Byta, which provides secure digital audio transfer services, has announced a $1.4 million USD seed round led by the Canada Media Fund (CMF).

Byta describes itself as “the platform for music before it’s on streaming services” and enables the transfer of digital audio. Its users from bedroom artists to the major labels. 

Private investors joining the round include Scott Kannberg, founding member of 90s indie rockers Pavement, who is a Byta user. “In the old days, I would share my music with others via cassette tape or a cdr. It would take hours and lots of postage,” says Kannberg. “Today, with Byta, I can share my music with bandmates, labels, promoters, writers, dj’s, etc in one click. I haven’t found anything as easy and digitally sound as Byta which is why I invested.”

Byta was founded in 2015 by CEO Marc Brown. Until recently, the company was bootstrapped by its founders. This seed round represents the first new money in the audio sharing space in over 10 years.

“We built Byta from the ground up, it’s the same advice I give to artists: Get everything in place yourself first, make sure you are ready, then look for outside help. Byta is ready,” says Brown.

Byta will also be investing in our new non-profit HowWeListen Education, inspired by the #HowWeListen blog interviews. The series evolved into curated panels and talks at conferences worldwide in 2019. The strand is being further expanded in 2020, including a podcast and workshops from Tallinn to Toronto.

“We are developing all kinds of new opportunities for artists, labels and industry partners” says Colin MacKenzie, Byta’s Head of Global Marketing.