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December 7, 2000

Ten Fast Facts: CantaMetrix

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CantaMetrix

WHO:
A privately held Internet infrastructure company founded in 1999 by John Castle and Max Wells

WHAT:
Provides technology enabling the music industry to receive payment for songs on the Web

WHERE:
Bellevue


Fast Fact #1: CantaMetrix calls its trademark software MusicDNA.

Comment: "In the same way we ourselves can be identified by DNA, we can do that with music," says Wells, chief technology officer. It's an almost perfect analogy, he explains. In biology, human identity is established by analyzing the unique genetic makeup of cells. At CantaMetrix, the identity of music is established by analyzing the unique digital makeup of MP3 files.

Max Wells
Max Wells


Fast Fact #2: Wells previously worked at the University of Washington.

Comment: He was associate director of the Human Interface Technology Lab. The lab specializes in virtual reality technology -- the use of computers to simulate an environment. Wells notes that a local author wrote a book about the lab entitled "The Visionary Position."


Fast Fact #3: The seed for CantaMetrix was planted on the road. 

Comment: Before coming to the university in 1994, Wells worked at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, where he applied virtual technology concepts to airplane cockpits. Since his wife's parents lived in North Carolina, they often made the 11-hour drive south. During those long trips, Wells wished his radio could automatically scan the airwaves, analyze the sounds of all the songs being broadcast and select his favorite tunes. He knew it was technologically possible, but thought it would be too costly to make it a good business proposition.  


Fast Fact #4: The explosion of music on the Web -- much of it copied illegally -- caused Wells to rethink his original idea.

Comment: "I was working at the university and had been wanting to take off into something entrepreneurial and [MusicDNA] was that opportunity," says Wells. The reason? It helps solve a fundamental dilemma for the music industry -- how to distribute songs over the Web and still get paid. Together with friend John Castle -- "a serial entrepreneur" -- Wells founded CantaMetrix. The name alludes to both music -- cantata -- and measurement -- metric.


Fast Fact #5: CantaMetrix will launch MusicDNA early next year.

Comment: The challenge is to convince the music industry that it can't ignore the growing popularity of obtaining music over the Web, says Wells. "The genie is out of the bottle ... you can't put it back," he says. Since that is the case, Wells suggests asking the genie for three wishes: reliable access to high-quality music; enriched content such as liner notes and artist interviews; and a way to ensure record labels and artists get paid for their music.  


Fast Fact #6: MusicDNA can make those wishes come true.

Comment: The most important issue is payment. Using "sniffers" to analyze MP3 files and compare them to a giant data base, MusicDNA can provide record labels and artists with a precise accounting of songs distributed over the Web. "We want to make sure there's a future for music," says Wells. "And the way to do that is to make sure artists get paid. Because if they don't get paid, the music goes away."  


Fast Fact #7: Wells expects music to evolve from a product into a service. 

Comment: In fact, that evolution is part of CantaMetrix's business plan. Wells envisions a system where consumers pay monthly fees to legitimate Internet music providers -- with MusicDNA identifying what songs are being delivered to consumers so that the provider can pay the record labels and artists accordingly. What's to prevent the providers from ignoring the record labels and artists? The law, says Wells. "It's a nice utopian idea that music should be free, but the artists need to make money like anybody else," he says.


Fast Fact #8: Wells grew up in Jamaica.

Comment: His father is from Jamaica and his mother is from England. His parents met while his father was studying medicine in England. Wells moved to Jamaica when he was 5 to live with his dad. Wells later earned a bachelor's degree in biology and psychology from Stirling University in Scotland and a doctorate in engineering from the University of Southampton in England. "My background has always been in the interface between machines and human beings," he says.


Fast Fact #9: CantaMetrix recently named a new CEO.

Comments: William Koenig replaces Castle, who will remain on the board and continue to serve as an advisor. Koenig formerly was president of DiscoverMusic.com, a Muzak spinoff that supplies music samples for shoppers at online retailers. Koenig is busy completing a $5 million round of venture capital financing. Wells predicts the company will require one more round of financing before eventually going public.


Fast Fact #10: CantaMetrix expects to outgrow its Bellevue office later next year.

Comment: Wells says the company will be looking for a 10-15,000-square-foot space somewhere along the I-90 corridor. CantaMetrix currently employs 26 people, but expects to grow to 45 by the end of the first quarter next year.



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