We7 raises $6 million for free music downloads
We7, an ad-supported music service based in the United Kingdom, allows its users to freely download MP3s of any songs they like, provided they can also stomach having a short ad permanently attached at the beginning.
The advertising allows We7 to remain legal, paying rights owners for use of their content. The company says it has had over a million downloads to date.
Spark Ventures provided the $6 million funding along with famous musician Peter Gabriel, according to TechCrunch. Gabriel also provided the company’s seed round.
Next Story: Mobile ad company Smaato raises $3.5M
Previous Story: Siperian, master data management co, gets $25M more
About the Author, Chris Morrison
Chris Morrison writes about cleantech and environmental issues for VentureBeat, with occasional forays into gaming and semantic technology. He got his start writing about tech for Business 2.0 magazine, but quickly realized new media was the ticket when that institution closed its doors in 2007. Chris has also covered public equities and regulatory issues. He originally hails from southern Virginia, graduated from Evergreen State College in Washington, and now lives in San Francisco.