Digital record label Ostereo has expanded its office space at Media City to accommodate a team that has increased from two to 23 in two years.
The company was founded in 2016 by Howard Murphy (above) and looks after 10 acts that it says had hit three billion streams between them this year.
Ostereo has now taken over an entire floor totalling 6,000 sq ft at The Landing building at Media City. This was previously co-working space, which has now been moved to a new floor in the seven-story tech and media hub.
Murphy said: “We’ve launched the careers of artists from all over the world but not too long ago I was living in Blackpool, signing on and trying to get discovered as a singer-songwriter.
“To find a home for my music and make a living from writing songs, I started pitching to an audio-branding agency that provides the kind of ‘background music’ you hear on adverts and in shops.
“The first agency I approached asked me to come up with 500 songs in just two weeks so I started writing and talent-spotting at the same time – and it wasn’t long before the songs we delivered were placed with big brands like Mercedes-Benz and Ikea.
“I accidently built a music licensing company and this gave me the confidence and resources to later set up Ostereo, which works by pairing technology with old-fashioned A&R talent-spotting to discover acts that have the potential to reach global audiences.
“We’ve grown really quickly thanks to our work with signings like J Fla. She went from recording cover songs in her bedroom to amassing more than 10 million YouTube subscribers and achieving more than two billion video views.
“It’s a brilliant feeling to take over the whole floor I was once sharing with other start-ups and I hope it inspires others never to give up. We have some great plans for the future, so watch this space!”
Ostereo is investing £1m in promoting new releases in the first quarter of 2019.
The company uses software technology that analyses audience data to identify engagement and predict likelihood of commercial success, helping the A&R team seek out talent that has not yet hit the radar of other labels.
