Just after it announced a distribution deal with high-profile social music service iLike, digital music distribution company TuneCore has another deal to announce: it's raised $7 million in venture funding from Opus Capital.
The company works like this: musicians upload their music, and TuneCore handles the distribution to digital outlets like iTunes, Amazon MP3, and Rhapsody. TuneCore does not take any cut of the royalties; it makes money from an up-front fee for uploading an album. The funding from Opus will be used for marketing and product development, including a streaming music player that TuneCore plans to launch within a month.
TuneCore says that between 150 and 250 albums are released every day through the service, from unsigned indie bands to hot acts like Jay-Z, Moby, and MGMT.