Once Promising Nashville Music Tech Startup Dart Music Selling Assets In Chapter 11

Dart Music, once considered the most promising tech startup in the Nashville music scene, has begun the process of selling off their assets after filing for bankruptcy protection in February. The company, which bills itself as a metadata services company, became a classical music distributor, allowing classical composers and small record labels the ability to post their music to streaming services and music retailers. The move into classical seemed a perfect dovetail for the company, as classical compositions and recordings are metadata-intensive and often include more than a hundred entries per track, such as musicians, conductor, and composer. Founded in 2015 by CEO Chris McMurty, the company also included Music City veterans Mark Montgomery and Music Row executive Joe Galante on its board. The company landed initial seed capital of $1.5 million and generated solid buzz, but was apparently unable to translate that into financial sustainability. In February, after announcing that they were reorganizing under Chapter 11, Chris McMurty described the bankruptcy as a necessary step after failing to reach an agreement with investors for short-term capital to keep the company afloat. "Restructuring will maintain Dart as the leading provider of metadata services globally. We believe this action will allow us to restore our company and take it to new heights. The company is doing business as usual as it navigates Chapter 11," McMurty told the Nashville Tennessean.