• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, January 18, 2010

Ad-supported music service Guvera has closed a second round of funding worth $20 million from AMMA Private Investment, an Australian consortium of private angel investors.

The news -- first reported by industry blog TechCrunch -- comes on the heels of a major licensing deal with Universal Music Group. The Australia-based service is seeking to establish its U.S. presence, and as such, opened its first New York office late last year.

The failure of startups like SpiralFrog and Qtrax -- along with London- and Stockholm-based Spotify's delayed U.S. debut -- has cast a shadow over online music services.

Guvera, however, is betting on the success of a distinctly more advertiser-friendly business model. When users register with the service, they are asked to provide some standard personal information like location, age and gender, along with favorite music, movies, sports, and even holidays.

Users can then search for the names of various bands, songs or genres, at which point Guvera returns a list of advertiser-sponsored channels with matching tracks. Once they pick a channel, they can stream or download other music paid for by that brand.

Guvera's proprietary algorithms not only help users find music they are likely to enjoy, but they help advertisers identify particular songs they should sponsor to more effectively reach target audiences.

To date, the privately held Guvera has raised a total of $30 million from AMMA Private Investment over the past two years. In addition to UMG, Guvera has licensing deals with EMI, among other labels.

Yet growth rates related to digital music activities appear to be leveling off, according to a recent report from Forrester. Despite the best marketing efforts of companies like MySpace and Pandora, mainstream Americans still have not taken to streaming music services, according to a survey of some 4,600 Americans, along with 13,000 Europeans.

Indeed, only 18% of U.S. online adults -- approximately 40 million consumers -- listen to free streaming music online on a regular basis, a percentage that has remained fairly constant over the past few years. Meanwhile, only 3% of U.S. consumers have downloaded a music app for their phone.

Perhaps complicating matters futher for any would-be digital music provider, Google is rumored to be building a music service, which the search giant recently began bolstering with content from major music labels. ilike -- the music startup that MySpace purchased in 2009 -- and Lala.com are expected to provide music for the unconfirmed service.