Interactive sheet music app developer Tonara Ltd. has raised $4 million in its first financing round. Carmel Ventures led the round, joined by previous investors Lool Ventures and Index Ventures, as well as angel investors, including Eilon Tirosh and Rami Lipman. Tonara will use the proceeds to further develop its technology, secure additional partnerships with sheet music publishers, and marketing.
The Tonara app enriches the music practicing experience by understanding the music being played and correlating it interactively with scores. Musicians can view their exact position in a score, focus on playing without the distraction of turning pages and receive real-time tempo feedback on their performance. Beginners and professionals alike enjoy the app, as it follows a musician’s position in the score, even if the user changes tempo, goes out of key or makes a mistake.
Tonara added that as part of its partnership with Hal Leonard Corporation, each week Tonara will introduce a new selection of songs from Hal Leonard's score collection of music from contemporary popular artists under the Universal, Sony and EMI labels. Users will gain access to hit songs of all genres and performance levels by artists such as Adele, Usher and the Beatles in full cooperation with Hal Leonard’s digital rights management system.
Tonara, founded in 2011, is currently available for iPads. Its music store features a wide selection of music and includes pieces for piano, violin, cello, flute and voice, and it plans to support additional instruments as its user base grows. Users can access a selection of music scores free of charge, and purchase additional scores for $0.99-2.99 directly within the app.
Tonara CEO Yair Lavi said, “We started Tonara with the idea that the way people learn, practice and play music will change considerably with the rise of tablet technologies and new music distribution channels. This round of funding, along with the Hal Leonard partnership, supports our vision and firmly positions us as the leading provider of interactive digital sheet music. We enable musicians of all experience levels to have a fun and interactive experience while playing their favorite songs.”
Carmel general partner Rina Shainski said, “Tonara’s disruptive technology was designed to transform the music-learning and practicing experience for amateur and professional musicians while bringing intelligent interactivity and social sharing to the music-playing community."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on August 1, 2012
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