Robb McDaniels - Music industry tech, building INgrooves from $0 to $130m in revenue #1
31m
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The Toolkit
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Robb McDaniels is a media and technology entrepreneur, investor and current CEO of Beatport. Beatport is an online record store, founded in 2004 as the principal source of music for DJs. In an era dominated by streaming, Beatport has grown its download sales over the last few years.
Robb began his career in finance after graduating from Trinity College in Hartford, CT. He then spent four years at Marsh and MacLennan in their investment banking and structured finance unit. During his tenure at Marsh, he moved to San Francisco where he founded INgrooves in 2002. He built the company into a full-service distribution and artist services operation. Under his leadership, INgrooves managed North American digital distribution for Universal Music Group, as well as more than 4 million songs for thousands of artists and labels. As CEO, he grew the company from nothing $130m revenue and nearly 200 employees.
Just before becoming Beatport’s CEO, 2016, McDaniels launched Faction Entertainment; technology enabled artist management platform, which he wound down in 2018.
Through discussing his past ventures, Robb provided unique perspectives from across tech, finance and media. His past wins and challenges shed light what it takes to execute an idea from conception to operating at a global scale.
Email me at [email protected] with any suggestions, comments or questions - I appreciate you listening!
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