Bryan Adams joins Scottish music tech start-up Songbox
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Bryan Adams has become co-founder of Songbox
Canadian rock legend Bryan Adams is putting his weight behind a Scottish music tech start-up.
The singer-songwriter has become co-founder of music-sharing platform Songbox, which allows audio files to be securely stored and shared.
The 63-year-old Grammy Award winner began collaborating with the Glasgow-based firm after he started using the platform two years ago.
He went on to help the company add new features to the product.
Songbox users create a playlist and send it via private link to anyone they choose. They are informed when a file has been received, whether it has been listened to, and for how long.
The company claims its audio quality is superior to competitors and describes itself as "the classy alternative to Soundcloud" for sharing music privately.
Bryan, whose hits have included (Everything I Do) I Do It for You and Summer of '69, said: "Songbox allows me to share new music that I'm working on in a way that I couldn't before.
"I don't need to send out MP3 files or physical products, so it keeps my ideas and early versions safe and secure until I'm ready to officially release the songs."
Songbox founder Michael Coll (centre) with co-founders Ciaran O'Toole and Bryan Adams
The idea for Songbox came from Scottish musician Michael Coll's frustration at trying to get attention for his work by burning CDs and putting them in the post.
The Songbox founder said: "Like many other bands, we'd send out demos and never even know whether they had been received, yet alone listened to."
Michael also saw the other side of the coin as a web developer in the music industry.
"In my job, I'd see people's hard work in the form of hundreds of demos arrive every week, only to pile up in a corner without ever being opened. We called it 'the corner where dreams went to die'.
"I knew there had to be a better way."
Songbox claims already to have thousands of global users, including Grammy winners and "hobbyists". Their clients include Noel Hogan, a founding member of The Cranberries.
The company said it would soon begin a series of funding rounds.