This British-born startup aims to decrease piracy and create more paying customers

Piracy is an ever-increasing threat. MUSO was started to solve the market challenges posed by unlicensed and piracy consumption that exploits IP rights online be it TV, film, software, music or publishing. The company has been witnessing explosive growth in the entertainment industry.

Co-founded in 2009 by Grammy-nominated music producer Andy Chatterley in London, the startup now has a team of over 35 employees spread across in offices in the UK capital, Los Angeles, Eastern Europe and Paris. It helps remove unlicensed digital content and provides piracy audiences data.

Raised €4M Series A funding

Now, the London startup has raised €4 million funding in a Series A round from London and Jersey-based VC firm Harwell Capital. This VC firm invests in innovative and new technology. It looks for proven businesses that have exciting proprietary technologies to solve real-world problems.

The startup will use this investment to expand its sales and marketing team. It also aims to increase its foothold in the gaming, live broadcast and digital media sectors. Prior to this, the same VC firm invested €2.9 million in MUSO.

Win again digital piracy

MUSO empowers entertainment companies and copyright holders win against digital piracy. Clients can discover the total extent of piracy easily by using a unique data set. They can build better intelligence to protect their digital content effectively and connect with audiences to open up new revenue channels.

Tracks piracy audiences

Back in 2018, MUSO tracked 190 billion visits to piracy sites. The data is used by broadcasters, brand advertisers, sports organisations and right-holders to inform the overall view of audience consumption and offer insights into content creation, demand and monetisation.

Unlocks revenue streams

While the other anti-piracy services treat piracy audiences as criminals, MUSO considers them as untapped opportunities. It works with clients such as IMG and Sony Interactive so that the untapped piracy audiences unlock new revenue streams by converting them into paying customers.

“Since Harwell Capital’s first investment round nearly two years ago, Andy and the team have delivered significant value to existing and new clients including global leading corporate businesses and trade bodies, transformed the Board to include high-profile growth stage veterans, and expanded the product range and application to significantly ratchet their addressable market. We remain supportive backers,” said Daniel O’Brien, Managing Director at Harwell Capital.

“Harwell has been a hugely supportive investment partner, who provide far more than cash alone to the company,” said Andy Chatterley, CEO and co-founder of MUSO. “They understand our vision and objectives and bring significant advice and acumen to ensure we can execute on our continued growth plans in a most exciting market.”

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