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A Vinyl Bar in Shibuya is a startup from a former Spotify leader for making music apps

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Merged summary · from the lead article

Former Spotify innovation head raises $5.5M pre-seed for A Vinyl Bar in Shibuya, a startup building playful music-creation apps with selective generative AI features.

A Vinyl Bar in Shibuya, founded by former Spotify head of innovation Máuhan M Zonoozy, raised a $5.5M pre-seed round from Mantis VC, SV Angel, Boxgroup, Quiet Capital and others. The startup ships small music-play apps including Speed Surfer, Usersound, Stacks, Drops, Sampler, and the iOS mixer app bop, plus a new prompt-based sound creation feature. Zonoozy says the company deliberately avoids infusing AI into every product, arguing human taste and participation become more valuable as AI-generated content grows abundant.

  • $5.5M pre-seed from Mantis VC, SV Angel, Boxgroup and other investors
  • Founded by Máuhan M Zonoozy, former Spotify head of innovation
  • Apps include bop iOS mixer, Speed Surfer extension, and YouTube-based Sampler
  • Founder intentionally limits generative AI in favor of human interaction

Coverage timeline

  1. · 1d ago
    TechCrunch · AI· 12
    A Vinyl Bar in Shibuya is a startup from a former Spotify leader for making music apps

    Former Spotify innovation head raises $5.5M pre-seed for A Vinyl Bar in Shibuya, a startup building playful music-creation apps with selective generative AI features.

  2. · 1d ago
    TechCrunch · AI· 3
    A Vinyl Bar in Shibuya is a startup offering fun music apps without any AI prompting

    Ex-Spotify innovation head raised a $5.5M pre-seed for A Vinyl Bar in Shibuya, building non-AI music-play apps like bop.