Dalton Caldwell
Encyclopedia
Dalton Caldwell is a technologist and digital music entrepreneur. He is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Mixed Media Labs.
in 2003 with a B.S. in Symbolic Systems and a B.A. in Psychology
.
After graduation, Caldwell worked briefly for VA Linux (where he had previously worked as a summer intern) before founding imeem
in late 2003 with Stanford classmate (and ex-Napster
engineer) Jan Jannink.
Having raised over $50 million from investors including Sequoia Capital
, imeem was one of the world’s largest music streaming services until it was bought and effectively shut down by MySpace
.
and Android mobile devices. The apps let users add effects to their images for free. Current effects include "Instant Film," "Russian Toy Camera," "the 70s" and "High Contrast Monochrome.” Caldwell says the effects are non-destructive, as picplz uploads both a copy of the original photo as well as the one with the applied filter.
’s Startup School event at Stanford University about the failures of imeem and of the challenges still facing the music industry. At the event, Caldwell delivered a cautionary message for entrepreneurs interested in music startups. Caldwell criticized major music labels for holding too much power, focusing mainly on the industry’s licensing deals for content. He said that the current state of the industry made success for startups bleak.
While some commentators praised Caldwell for his harsh but realistic insight on the digital music startup industry, many critics (notably David Hyman, CEO and founder of MOG
) felt that the lessons learned from Caldwell’s experience with imeem did not accurately portray the industry as a whole.
Biography
Born in El Paso, Texas, Caldwell graduated from Stanford UniversityStanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
in 2003 with a B.S. in Symbolic Systems and a B.A. in Psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
.
After graduation, Caldwell worked briefly for VA Linux (where he had previously worked as a summer intern) before founding imeem
Imeem
The online service imeem was a social media web site where users interacted with each other by streaming, uploading and sharing music and music videos...
in late 2003 with Stanford classmate (and ex-Napster
Napster
Napster is an online music store and a Best Buy company. It was originally founded as a pioneering peer-to-peer file sharing Internet service that emphasized sharing audio files that were typically digitally encoded music as MP3 format files...
engineer) Jan Jannink.
Having raised over $50 million from investors including Sequoia Capital
Sequoia Capital
Sequoia Capital is a Californian venture capital firm located on Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park, California. The Wall Street Journal has called Sequoia Capital "one of the highest-caliber venture firms", and noted that it is "one of Silicon Valley's most influential venture-capital firms"...
, imeem was one of the world’s largest music streaming services until it was bought and effectively shut down by MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
.
Mixed Media Labs & Picplz
Mixed Media Labs, founded in 2010, is a start-up whose first product is picplz, a photo broadcasting application for iPhoneIPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
and Android mobile devices. The apps let users add effects to their images for free. Current effects include "Instant Film," "Russian Toy Camera," "the 70s" and "High Contrast Monochrome.” Caldwell says the effects are non-destructive, as picplz uploads both a copy of the original photo as well as the one with the applied filter.
Appearance at 2010 Y Combinator’s Startup School
In October 2010, Caldwell spoke at Y CombinatorY Combinator
Y Combinator is an American seed-stage startup funding firm, started in March 2005. Y Combinator provides seed money, advice, and connections at two 3-month programs per year...
’s Startup School event at Stanford University about the failures of imeem and of the challenges still facing the music industry. At the event, Caldwell delivered a cautionary message for entrepreneurs interested in music startups. Caldwell criticized major music labels for holding too much power, focusing mainly on the industry’s licensing deals for content. He said that the current state of the industry made success for startups bleak.
While some commentators praised Caldwell for his harsh but realistic insight on the digital music startup industry, many critics (notably David Hyman, CEO and founder of MOG
MOG
MOG may refer to:* MOG , a social networking website and blog network* MOG theory or Scalar–tensor–vector gravity* Machinery of government, the interconnected structures and processes of government...
) felt that the lessons learned from Caldwell’s experience with imeem did not accurately portray the industry as a whole.