Scratch Music Group Receives Growth Funding from NEA and Contour Venture Partners

NEW YORK, June 7, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Scratch Music Group, a fast growing music and technology company, announced today that it completed an additional round of growth financing.  The company will use the funds to accelerate its growth, make acquisitions, pursue strategic partnerships and grow the team.

The financing was led by New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and includes participation from existing investor Contour Venture Partners.

Since completing its Series A round of financing and launching its Scratch Weddings division in 2010, the ten year old Scratch Music Group has cemented its position as the definitive brand and service provider in the DJ space.  At its core is the largest team of highly screened, trained and tested marquee DJs – with a talent network of over 1,000 across the globe.  Through its diverse and proprietary team of DJ professionals, turnkey service delivery operation, established brand and proven results, the company has become the nation's largest DJ solutions company and DJ learning center.  To date, Scratch has provided DJs for more than 30,000 events and weddings and over 60 national tours for top brands including MTV, Saks, Vans, Bloomingdale's, ESPN, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, Sandals & Beaches Resorts, Sephora, Nike, Pepsi, H&M, W Hotels and many more.  Similarly, Scratch DJ Academy has taught over 500,000 people how to DJ through its proprietary DJ and music production curriculum.  Furthermore, since funding Scratch Weddings has seen 100% growth in revenue, bookings and executions.

"Our goal has always been to deliver performances that create loyalty and trust from the brands and consumers we service. We're inspired by the role music plays in people's lives and are driven to create memorable experiences that are above and beyond expectations," said Rob Principe, founder and CEO of Scratch Music Group.  "We are thrilled to have such world-class investors joining forces with us."

"We are delighted to have led this financing round and believe Scratch Music Group is well on its way to becoming an iconic music and technology company," said Harry Weller, General Partner at NEA. "We have seen Scratch build an amazing brand, evolve its offerings and dominate the DJ space and we look forward to helping the company catapult into its next phase of growth."

ABOUT SCRATCH MUSIC GROUP

Based in New York City, Scratch Music Group is a venture-backed music and technology company.  Since its founding in 2002, Scratch has built the first and largest national team of heavily screened marquee DJs (1,000 members), which it utilizes for thousands of weddings, corporate events, tours, and music festivals each year.  The company also runs the Scratch DJ Academy -- the world's leading DJ and music production learning center co-developed with Jam Master Jay of Run DMC, with locations in NYC, Miami, LA and Chicago.  Scratch Music Group has booked DJs for over 30,000 events and entertained over 12 million guests.  For additional information, visit www.scratchmusicgroup.com.

ABOUT NEA

NEA is a leading venture capital firm focused on helping entrepreneurs build transformational businesses across multiple stages, sectors and geographies. With about $13 billion in committed capital, the firm invests in information technology, healthcare and energy technology companies at all stages in a company's lifecycle, from seed stage through IPO. NEA's long track record of successful investing includes more than 175 portfolio company IPOs and more than 300 acquisitions. For additional information, visit www.nea.com.

ABOUT CONTOUR VENTURE PARTNERS

Contour Venture Partners is a New York City based early stage venture capital firm. Contour invests in companies that provide innovative technology enhanced products and services into the financial services, digital media and internet sectors. Contour partners with passionate entrepreneurs and management teams to build great businesses that seek to ultimately transform their industries. For additional information, visit www.contourventures.com.

SOURCE Scratch Music Group