New firm gets 500,000 hits a day

19 Dec 2006

A Welsh online music shareware website is exceeding growth forecasts to become one of Wales’ most popular websites.

Since setting up in Wales, Cardiff based Altsounds.com is attracting in excess of 500,000 website hits a day from 10,000 users internationally. Visitors to the site are budding musicians, artists and bands seeking an outlet to showcase their music, or listeners looking for an alternative to the mainstream charts.

Founded by 27 year old Chris Maguire in January this year, Alsounds.com is the only site of its kind in Wales. It already has more than 200 Welsh music acts signed up to the site’s services to promote their music within Wales and across the World.

For unknown artists looking to upload songs and videos online, the company provides musical expertise and high quality recording opportunities from state of the art facilities in Cardiff Bay. Generating revenue from recording, photography and online advertising, Altsounds.com is working with business support agency Venture Wales to further develop the online music database with the aim of rivalling the likes of My Space.

The company’s focus for the coming 12 months is to convert the half million hits a day into sales to grow the company.

The Blackwood born and bred entrepreneur spotted a niche in the Welsh market having initially piloted the site in America in 2005 while working as an IT specialist. Artists such as The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, 10 Years and Ludo were the first of Altsounds.com achievements all of whom have gone on to accomplish massive success both in the US and the rest of the world.

With strategic business and funding advice from the pan-Wales organisation Venture Wales, Chris received £7000 grant from Cardiff City Council’s Entrepreneurship fund to build and maintain the fully operational recording studio.

With a current staff of five working on specific areas of the company from music journalism to studio engineering, Altsounds.com will focus the next 12 months on attracting even more users and offering live stage and promotional photography to market the artists’ music globally. Over the next three years, the company is looking to have a staff of approximately 20 people.

Chris said: “I‘ve been able to draw on my vast contact list spanning the USA, Europe and Japan to support the development of the abundance of talent we have in Wales. My overall aim is to get as many music recordings, biographies, photographs and demo tapes to the exacting standard record labels require and then help the artists to secure record deals across the world.

“It’s been important to secure premises as a way of expanding the website and music facilities. The site has the potential to host an almost limitless number of users, so next year I hope to start the process of growing staff numbers to drive the website and its content forward.”

Cheryl Bass Business Advisor and Mentor for Venture Wales, that has an unmatched record in achieving success for entrepreneurs, start up and growing SME’s, said: “It didn’t take long to see that Altsounds.com was a great concept. Chris has an amazing flare for music and with his previous musical and IT experience he was perfectly suited to spot and exploit the gap in the Welsh market.

“We want Altsounds.com to exceed their expectations by providing vital advice, putting him in touch with the right people for funding entitlements, as well as supporting his business planning, marketing, premises and product development. It’s quite an achievement for Chris to have developed such a successful company in only 10 months, and in a very tough market place. Very few new sites can boast such a fantastic hit rate, making a great base for us to work closely and put a complex business plan into practice.”