PureVolume, the music discovery and streaming platform that aided the rise of bands like Paramore and Gym Class Heroes, will shut down April 30th.
Launching in 2003, the goal of PureVolume was in increasing the presence of indie and up-and-coming artists. The site emerged during the time of peer-to-peer file sharing networks and PureVolume allowed bands to upload their songs as free downloads, potentially reaching a wider audience. The site’s founders – Mitchell Pavao, Brett Woitunski and Nate Hudson also included editorial content like weekly top picks and live sessions and even early prototypes of social media on the platform.
The site grew to become a popular showcase for emo and pop-punk bands in the mid-2000s, such as All Time Low, Paramore and Fall Out Boy. Gym Class Heroes obtained record deal with Fueled by Ramen after spending a couple of weeks on PureVolume’s “PurePicks” list. In a 2006 Rolling Stone interview, drummer of Hawthorne Heights Eron Bucciarelli said of PureVolume,”We make a point to stay in contact via MySpace or PureVolume.com or our Web site. We’re very, very approachable.”
SpinMedia acquired PureVolume in 2010, , but sold it with Buzznet and Idolator in 2016 to Hive Media.
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