Jeff Price Now Has $2.5 Million to Change YouTube…

Jeff Price may be the most controversial and criticized executive in the music industry today. But this is a man who has believers: according to a just-disclosed round, the dethroned TuneCore CEO has just rallied $2 million in investor capital to propel Audiam, an ambitious attempt to tame the penniless wilds of YouTube. That follows an earlier, $500,000 seed round.

The latest round includes a substantial list of believers, all of whom are betting that Jeff Price is the man to bring YouTube monetization to the promise land:

Jason Mraz

Brett Gurewitz (Epitaph, Bad Religion)

(Epitaph, Bad Religion) Jimmy Buffett

Bill Silva (manager, concert promoter, music publisher)

(manager, concert promoter, music publisher) GSO Business Group (LA-based management firm specializing in music, film/television and sports Industries)

(LA-based management firm specializing in music, film/television and sports Industries) Jonathan Siegel (software engineer and leading advisor to mobile and cloud companies)

(software engineer and leading advisor to mobile and cloud companies) David Willen (author and recognized leader in cloud architecture, CTO at Barnes&Noble.com, CTO at TheStreet.com, software architect at Dun & Bradstreet)

(author and recognized leader in cloud architecture, CTO at Barnes&Noble.com, CTO at TheStreet.com, software architect at Dun & Bradstreet) Scott Schreer (multiple BMI-award winning composer, CEO of global digital music fingerprinting company TuneSat, NFL on Fox Composer/Producer)

The round was first disclosed early this morning. “Audiam launched mid-2013 with a simple mission: to get music publishers, labels and artists paid for the use of their music in YouTube,” Jeff Price told Digital Music News. “In just the last seven months, Audiam has combined its unique understanding of music copyright and proprietary cutting edge technology to establish itself as the leader in getting copyright holders paid for the use of their music on YouTube.”

But ‘solving YouTube’ is no small challenge. Right now, the problem is that most artists have little-to-no idea what YouTube pays or should pay, or even how to properly structure their presence on YouTube to get compensated. Which is a pity, because YouTube is easily the largest and most powerful platform for music consumption in the world, with relatively little or no income flowing back to creators.

Price has been brutalized and criticized as a smoke-and-mirrors charlatan, especially by those in the trenches of the YouTube beast. But plenty feel that Price can do for YouTube what he did for DIY distribution at TuneCore. And with that, here’s a list of early believers, all of whom have signed with Audiam in the last few months to realize greater income:

Imagem (p ublishing catalogs of Pink Floyd, Genesis, Daft Punk, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Irving Berlin, Mötley Crüe, Boosey & Hawkes, Elvis Presley…)

(p ublishing catalogs of Pink Floyd, Genesis, Daft Punk, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Irving Berlin, Mötley Crüe, Boosey & Hawkes, Elvis Presley…) Velvet Apple (Dolly Parton music publishing catalog)

(Dolly Parton music publishing catalog) Leaving Hope Music/Form and Texture/Cloud Covers (Trent Reznor publishing catalog)

(Trent Reznor publishing catalog) Coral Reefer (Jimmy Buffet music publishing catalog)

(Jimmy Buffet music publishing catalog) Ruthless Attack Muzick (NWA music publishing catalog)

(NWA music publishing catalog) Sword and Stone (Tori Amos music publishing catalog)

(Tori Amos music publishing catalog) Aimee Mann Publishing

Nash Notes (Graham Nash music publishing catalog)

(Graham Nash music publishing catalog) Dollarz ‘N Sense Muzick (Bone Thugs and Harmony music publishing catalog)

(Bone Thugs and Harmony music publishing catalog) SyVy Publishing (Steve Vai music publishing catalog)

(Steve Vai music publishing catalog) Hancock Publishing (Herbie Hancock music publishing catalog)

(Herbie Hancock music publishing catalog) Silva Tone Music Publishing (Neon Lights and more)

(Neon Lights and more) Dandy Warhol Music (The Dandy Warhols)

(The Dandy Warhols) 8 Minutes 20 Seconds (Pretty Lights music publishing catalog)

(Pretty Lights music publishing catalog) Mothership Music Publishing (Zedd, Bonnie Tyler)

(Zedd, Bonnie Tyler) Bluewater Music Services Corp. (Rodney Carrington, Cross Canadian Ragweed, Willie D of the Geto Boys)

(Rodney Carrington, Cross Canadian Ragweed, Willie D of the Geto Boys) House Of Hassle Publishing (Grizzly Bear, Magnetic Fields, Superchunk, Galaxie 500, Crooked Fingers, Damon and Naomi, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Red House Painters, Mates of State)

(Grizzly Bear, Magnetic Fields, Superchunk, Galaxie 500, Crooked Fingers, Damon and Naomi, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Red House Painters, Mates of State) Fig Music Publishing (Bad Religion, The Menzingers, Falling in Reverse, Every Time I Die, Escape the Fate)

More details ahead.