Independent music from Australia to London to Brazil will reach a wider world wide audiences thanks to technology developed by a Glasgow-based music technology company. Rightsrouter has invented its own system for adapting music from CDs to the various formats used by online music shops. The company has processed 1.5 million downloaded tracks in its first year.

Major record labels manage the conversions and licences for online distribution for their artists, but for independent labels with much smaller budgets the problem of conversion and rights management can be costly and time-consuming. Rightsrouter processes tunes for those labels or licences its software for labels to use.

"Online distribution is a major shift in the 75-year history of recorded music and it can really benefit smaller labels," said Rightsrouter founder and chief executive Gavin Robertson. "There is nobody doing exactly what we’re doing."

"We are looking for interim funding now and a large round next year. We are now looking to expand significantly," said Robertson. To date, the firm has raised what Robertson calls a small amount from Swiss private investors plus a relocation grant from Scottish Enterprise’s creative industries section. Its revenues for its first year were €400,000 (£278,000).

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