Exclusive: Boombox.io raises $7M for music collaboration app

San Francisco-based startup boombox.io has raised $7 million to build out a music collaboration platform, CEO Tom Chavez exclusively tells Axios.

Why it matters: While collaboration tools are ubiquitous, entrepreneurs and investors see value in creating specialized products for particular creators like musicians.

How it works: The startup has a platform that lets music producers store and manage their audio and songwriting files and create contracts for song ownership.

• Boombox.io also has a generative AI-powered music tool called Boombot. It helps create text-based elements such as lyrics and song titles, along with music files including chord progressions.
• "The game isn't to supplant musicians with machines, and I don't see that happening anytime soon, but rather to really elevate and enrich their creative process with gen AI," Chavez says.
• Boombox.io has a freemium model, charging a monthly fee for extra storage and features.

Details: Forerunner Ventures led the seed round and was joined by the startup studio super{set} and Ulu Ventures. Chavez co-founded and is a general partner of super{set}, which also provided an initial $2 million in funding.

• Chavez says the new funding will put be toward hiring and product development. The company has 17 employees.
• "Our main focus is on collaboration and gen AI and helping musicians find other collaborators," he says. "But we're beginning with the end in mind. We're going to take our musicians to a future where they can push a button and turnkey their creations onto digital streaming platforms."

Catch up quick: Boombox.io launched last November. Other co-founders include head of technology Max Mathieu, chief technology officer Vivek Vaidya and head of product India Lossman.

• Chavez says he intended to be a professional musician but ended up in software. He founded ad tech firm Rapt, which Microsoft acquired, and founded data management platform Krux, which Salesforce acquired.