Leeds platform's film music strikes the right note

Founded by Lewis Foster and Matt Russell, Music Vine is an online platform that offers quality tracks for use by video producers, filmmakers and animators at affordable prices.

And, just over a year after the website’s launch, Music Vine is making all the right noises, having been named in its industry press as one of the world’s top five music licensing platforms.

Its founders also won a major prize worth £7,000 at a recent awards event staged by Entrepreneurial Spark Powered by NatWest, a free business accelerator for early stage and growing ventures.

Lewis told Digital City: “A few years ago Matt and I worked together at a Leeds video production company and we shared a frustration with the process of locating good music for the videos we were working on.

“It didn’t matter where we looked, we regularly ended up spending way too much time sifting through cluttered libraries of mostly dated music, trying to find a track that cut the mustard and had just the right vibe.

“That’s where the idea began to form and we became excited about creating a new platform with a focus on keeping things simple – a lean, curated catalogue of great tracks, affordable licence prices and a beautiful front-end interface.”

Music Vine also aims to support independent musicians by providing them with a no-fuss way of showcasing and earning from their work.

Genres that feature in the site’s online catalogue include everything from indie, folk and pop to funk, hip hop and electronic.

The business has until now been based at Entrepreneurial Spark’s Leeds premises off the Headrow but is in the process of moving into a new office on Aire Street.

And with turnover having grown 40-fold in the space of 12 months, the team at Music Vine is justifiably thinking big.

Lewis said: “The beauty with this model is that if the business is positioned in the market just right, it has the potential to scale very quickly and to be prosperous for both our team and our growing artist community.

“We’re aiming high with Music Vine – we’re intent on building the world’s go-to resource for anyone seeking great music for their projects.

“It’s certainly heading in that direction and we’re really excited for what the next few years hold!”

For further information about the platform, visit the www.musicvine.net website.

The Yorkshire Evening Post recently launched its Digital City platform in partnership with Sky Betting & Gaming.

The platform is designed to highlight the giant strides being made by a sector that boasts around 3,000 organisations in Leeds.