CBS Interactive Music Group today announced a significant expansion of its streaming, personalized radio, on-demand and editorial franchises as a result of integrating MetroLyrics, the No. 1 lyrics website...
MetroLeap Media was founded in 2004 by Milun Tesovic and Alan Juristovski around MetroLyrics.com after high school student Milun Tesovic discovered that song lyrics was one of the most popular search terms on the Internet, yet the consumer experience was inadequate and search results often inaccurate and incomplete.
In 2002 Tesovic turned an insatiable consumer need into a thriving business, writing a script that would later become MetroLyrics.com, the most complete and accurate song lyrics database in the world.
Already a young entrepreneur, Tesovic sold his Internet hosting business to devote his time to MetroLyrics.com, a few years later along with business partner Alan Juristovski to jointly found MetroLeap Media. The company went on to provide entertainment content services to a growing base of consumers and a platform for advertising and promotional campaigns for advertisers.
MetroLyrics.com was the first lyrics-dedicated site to offer licensed song lyrics, through a partnership with Gracenote. The pioneering deal ensured artists, songwriters and music publishers are properly compensated for the use of their copyrighted lyrics, while maintaining the best possible lyrics experience for consumers.
MetroLyrics.com has become the most popular lyrics site worldwide, reaching more than 45 million unique monthly visitors, receiving 100+ million monthly page views, and ranking as one of the top 10 most popular online music properties in the US.
In 2011, CBS Interactive Music Group acquired all of MetroLeap Media's assets including MetroLyrics. As a result of the deal, CBS's audience reach doubled and placed it as the fifth largest music property in the world. MetroLyrics is now partnered and integrated with other high profile music properties such as Last.fm, Radio.com and MP3.com.
Pictured: Milun Tesovic (left) and Alan Juristovski
Alan Juristovski - Co-founder and CEO
Although his official title is listed as CEO, we know Alan better as our fearless leader. His business leadership and strategic skills have brought MetroLyrics to where it is today. Along with partner Milun Tesovic, Alan founded MetroLeap Media out of his basement.
Milun Tesovic - Co-founder and CTO
Tesovic started MetroLyrics.com at 16, following an early passion for technology. Metrolyrics is the most popular online lyrics property in the world. Today, Tesovic is an award-winning, 26-year-old business student and GM of CBS Lyrics Inc. He continues to evolve MetroLyrics.com with innovative lyrics applications and services that appeal to the site's large user base.
Milun Tesovic named #1 in world at global Student Entrepreneur Awards, ahead of 30 other student entrepreneurs from 18 countries.
MetroLeap was awarded a top 50 company by Red Herring Canada in 2008, celebrating the most innovative and promising companies in Canada.
Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2009 - Pacific region finalists, technology and media category.
MetroLeap received the Business Excellence Award in 2008. The awards recognize and honour business excellence and contributions to the city of Burnaby.
Milun Tesovic, 2009 Canadian National Student Entrepreneur Champion - Advancing Canadian Entrepreneurship (ACE).
Milun Tesovic received the award from Simon Fraser University in 2008, provided to the student who represents the most successful entrepreneur.
Latest News
CBS Interactive Acquires MetroLyrics.com, the #1 Music Lyrics Site in the World.
CBS Interactive Music Group today announced a significant expansion of its streaming, personalized radio, on-demand and editorial franchises as a result of integrating MetroLyrics, the No. 1 lyrics website, reaching nearly double the audience of its nearest competitor, into its family of properties.
The initial phase of this enterprise affiliation launched today with the debut of a new and dynamic MetroLyrics website. The updated design presents a very powerful user experience for the consumer with restructured navigation, more original music content than ever before powered by Radio.com, Last.fm and MP3.com, and expansive social integration all the while showcasing the work of songwriters.
MetroLyrics is the most comprehensive database of legal lyrics in the world with words to more than 700,000 songs. The site generates over 25 million unique users a month across the globe with nearly 12 million of those in the United States (comScore, Aug. 2011).
MetroLeap CTO Milun Tesovic featured on Business News Network
Canada's Business News Network interviews MetroLeap Media Inc's CTO, Milun Tesovic, for SqueezePlay's look at Canada's best young entrepreneurs. Milun discusses the origins of MetroLyrics.com, some of our winning business strategies, and what the future holds for the company. In addition, Milun fields the question that always makes him cringe: "What kind of car do you drive?"
How a B.C. Teen Created One Of The World's Biggest Music Sites
Interested in the story behind the creation of MetroLyrics.com? Marsha Lederman of the Globe & Mail profiles the company's co-founders, Milun Tesovic and Alan Juristovski, in this profile piece. The two detail the keys to successfully thriving in a dynamic Internet environment, crediting their legally licensed lyrics model as the linchpin of their success. Find out how Milun and Alan went from humble beginnings to developing MetroLyrics.com into the world's third-largest music site, all from out of their basements.
Don't forget the lyrics: Which Idols are most sought after?
Metrolyrics recently analyzed its archives to see which Idols' songs were the most popular when it comes to lyrics.
While the guys may be winning on the show these days, in 2010, the ladies dominated the world of online lyric searches. Inaugural champ Kelly Clarkson topped the list with 3,772,979 song lyric searches. Carrie Underwood followed closely behind with 3,025,063 searches, with Jordin Sparks rounding out the top three with 2,148,863. The first male on the list, Kris Allen, came in fourth with 1,611,475 views, and David Cook came in fifth place with 518,816 song lyric hits, a drop off of nearly 70%.
Ironically, the top 9 contestants were each searched more than the music icons who will be judging the next batch, including pop diva Jennifer Lopez and rock legend Steven Tyler. Of the judges, Lopez received the most searches (580,448) almost as many as Tyler/Aerosmith (255,080), Paula Abdul (27,227), and Kara DioGuardi (199,768) combined.
Nine years after Clarkson closed the first season with a performance of A Moment Like This, that song still receives more searches than the coronation songs of the next four Idol winners collectively -- Ruben Studdard's Flying Without Wings, Fantasia's I Believe, Underwood's Inside Your Heaven and Taylor Hicks' Do I Make You Proud.
Lyrics Websites Start To Pull In Some Extra Cash
Billboard Magazine featured MetroLyrics.Com CEO Alan Juristovski in an article about how the business of searching for lyrics online is starting to be a profitable one.
Juristovski highlights how MetroLyrics is trying to expose its visitors to many other offerings in the music space in an effort to broaden the reach of the site. Also featured in the article is information about some of the other activities MetroLyrics has taken part in within the music world.
You're Never Too Young to Start Building Your Business
On Tonic.com, MetroLeap CTO and Co-founder, Milun Tesovic shares his inspirational story of where the drive to build MetroLyrics came from - how it lead to the success story of the world's most popular lyrics website - and how there's no such thing as too early to get going.
Tonic.com is a site dedicated to promoting the good that occurs around the world each day. By highlighting stories of organisations and individuals that are effecting positive change in the world and inspiring others through their own efforts and examples.
Tonic regularly features contributors and guest writers and today cast a spotlight on Milun Tesovic's article to show us all that you're never too young to start chasing your dreams.
Cardinal Partners with MetroLyrics, announces Milun Tesovic to Board of Advisors
Cardinal has announced that they are forming a partnership with the world's greatest source of lyrics: MetroLyrics.com! The partnership will improve on their iPhone products as well as build on their overall mobile strategy. MetroLyrics will work with Cardinal to evolve, integrate and cross-promote products. Along with the new partnership, MetroLeap Chief Technology Officer Milun Tesovic will join the board of advisors at Cardinal. Cardinal's music participation and insight platform allows users to share and discover music and friends as well as influence whats playing at 'Cardinal Powered' venues and more.
MetroLyrics, #1 Site for Lyrics, Now Most Popular Online Entertainment and Music Destination for Mobile Users
MetroLyrics, the most trafficked website for lyrics in the world with more than 40 million unique monthly visitors, is also the clear leader in the entertainment and music category for mobile users according to comScore data for 2010. Metrolyrics received more than 228,000 unique monthly visitors from mobile devices alone in February 2010, twice the amount of their closest competitor, Dada.net according to comScore. MetroLyrics has more mobile users than any other lyrics site and also more than many well-known sites in the music industry including VH1.com, Last.Fm and iLike.com.
CBC spotlights MetroLyrics.com and the Legal Lyric Space
Recently the Canadian Broadcasting Centre (CBC) visited the offices of MetroLeap Media to produce a news feature on 'the world's most popular online lyric-finder', MetroLyrics.com and how it paved the way and defined the legal lyric space. CBC Reporter Theresa Lelonde introduces viewers to the unique story of how Milun Tesovic came to create MetroLyrics and - along with partner Alan Juristovski - went on to pioneer the practice of legal licensed lyrics and eventually shape and define the industry as it is today.
MetroLyrics.com featured in the New York Times
The New York Times recently ran an article featuring MetroLyrics.com and CTO Milun Tesovic and CEO Alan Juristovski. The piece showcases the genesis of MetroLyrics - how Milun Tesovic came to create the most popular Lyric site in the world and how it has grown. It also highlights the current state of the online Lyric space, how MetroLyrics has paved the way for legal lyric sites (by way of obtaining licenses and paying songwriters due royalties) and the spate of non-legal websites still currently active and operational across the web - and their impact on the music community.
MetroLeap Media makes it into the 2010 Ready to Rocket list
The Vancouver Sun announced recently that MetroLeap Media - along with 24 other companies from British Columbia - have been named in this year's 'Ready to Rocket' list. The annual list is released by Rocket Builders, and typically features 19 companies named in previous years along with six new comers. MetroLeap Media joins the newcomers this year. The list is currently in its eight year. The companies in this year's Ready to Rocket list feature an average revenue growth of 75 per cent.
Milun Tesovic named #1 in world at Global Student Entrepreneur Awards
MetroLeap Co-Founder and Chief Technical Officer, Milun Tesovic is named Global Champion at the 2009 Global Student Entrepreneur Awards after beating out 30 other student entrepreneurs from 18 countries. Milun - already the Canadian Champion - took home first place with USA in second and Singapore in third. The students represent today's brightest, most innovative and forward-thinking individuals, laying the foundation for economic turnaround across the world. The awards were held in Kansas City, Missouri on November 18th, 2009.
Celebrity Access reporter Larry LeBlanc profiles and interviews MetroLeap Media co-founder and CTO, Milun Tesovic. LeBlanc takes a deep look into Tesovic's entrepreneurial journey and successes - starting MetroLyrics.com at the age of 16 with a determination to create the first-ever legal lyrics site and reform the online music industry. Tesovic discusses how strategic partnerships (with leading brands Gracenote, AOL Music and Billboard), innovative music products and content, and a committed online community have grown MetroLyrics.com into the 3rd largest music site in the world. Mobile, personalization, and international expansion mark the next big moves for the company.
A look at how MetroLyrics became one of the hottest Web properties in the world, with more traffic than any other Canadian-owned Website and position as the sixth largest music-themed Website (ahead of better-known sites such as Last.fm, Napster and Rhapsody). With a focus on increasing the value to its more than 32 million unique visitors and advertisers, to partnerships with top music industry companies such as AOL Music, MetroLyrics is gaining attention from Internet media CEOs, the financial community and beyond.
