If paying for a streaming platform is not something that fits within your financial plans, then perhaps Trebel, a startup of Mexican origin, could be a good alternative.
Since its inception, the company has been funded with capital from investors in this country. One of them is Adrián Sada Cueva, CEO of the Monterrey-based multinational company Vitro.
The startup was co-founded by Luis Soto, who also serves as CEO. Trebel’s business model is based on advertising that does not interrupt listening and allows users to play music without internet; at no cost.
Its great differentiator from other music streaming platforms is that, with the sponsorship of advertisers and in association with the main record labels, the company allows its users to choose from a library of 40 million songs to listen to without internet connection.
Offline mobile music is a great opportunity for the music streaming industry. The number of smartphone users is estimated to reach 6.9 billion in 2013. Most of these people are turning to free substitutes of pirated content.
In an interview with Forbes, Soto said that Trebel seeks to “solve piracy, because we will give consumers the opportunity to have a great music consumption experience (for free), and artists will be fairly compensated.”
In this context, a few weeks ago Trebel announced a Series B financing of US$25 million led by MNC Media, the largest media conglomerate in Indonesia. The round included strategic investors from the NBA such as Thaddeus Young, the tycoon Chris Burch, a group of Mexican investors led by businessman Alejandro Grisi and two members of the Vargas Ayala family, a steel producer in Colombia.
With these new funds, Trebel will launch in Indonesia – another country where piracy consumption dominates music – and will be able to boost its expansion in Latin America, starting with Colombia and Brazil in 2022.
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