We Are Large raises $8M from Sterling Companions to launch music group platform
As artists try to not solely captivate audiences but additionally flip fandom into sustainable income streams, the competitors to innovate and join with followers on a deeper degree has continued to draw curiosity from traders within the music business.
A brand new startup, We Are Giant, has simply launched as a group platform designed for the music business, supported by an $8 million funding from Sterling Partners.
Based and led by Andy Apple, who beforehand served as an investor at enterprise capital corporations Sound Ventures and Wavemaker Companions, We Are Large goals to supply a centralized house for group constructing, income era, and direct-to-fan engagement, in keeping with a press launch on Thursday (November 16).
We Are Large describes itself as an ad-free platform that gives artists a variety of instruments to monetize their work and create deeper connections with their fanbase. The platform’s options embrace licensed listening events for brand new music and unreleased demos, unique livestreams, interactive chat rooms with musicians, and extra.
The platform uniquely licenses pre-released and commercially obtainable music for listening events and offers efficiency licenses for livestreaming. This enables artists to simply report streams to SoundExchange and performing rights organizations, the corporate stated.
It additionally offers promotional assist, providing artists a centralized suite of free instruments to monetize their work. Artists can promote bodily merchandise, ticket livestreams, settle for suggestions throughout performances, and extra.
The platform’s ‘Chat’ function, in the meantime, encourages like-minded fan engagement and serves as a discussion board for brand new music discovery. Non-public chat rooms, built-in with digital streaming platforms, allow followers to hearken to music collectively in artist group channels.
The startup’s Founder and CEO, Andy Apple, shall be joined within the administration crew by Dan McComas, the Vice President of Product & Group, in addition to VP of Music JP Slater, VP of Engineering Josh Fraser, and Head of Artist Success Tony Hartman. McComas beforehand served as SVP of product at Reddit and founding father of RedditGifts.
“Artists and IP homeowners have been underserved from a creator instruments perspective for too lengthy, all with out really proudly owning their fan relationships. Moreover, nearly all of working musicians aren’t capable of make an inexpensive residing and have been utilizing outdated, fragmented, and misaligned promotional instruments with little return,” Apple stated.
“Our platform helps artists to maximise their careers, construct extra viable methods to make a residing, drive longevity, and optimize their most vital fan relationships by creating sustainable and profitable communities.”
Andy Apple, We Are Large
“At We Are Large, our aim is to vary this damaged system. Our platform helps artists to maximise their careers, construct extra viable methods to make a residing, drive longevity, and optimize their most vital fan relationships by creating sustainable and profitable communities,” the chief continued.
We Are Large is accessible by way of its web site and IOS app.
As a part of its preliminary beta section, We Are Large now has over 50 artists, spanning main label and unbiased signings to unbiased acts, who’ve established their very own group channels. Moreover, greater than 150 fan-led group occasions for artists like Dominic Fike, Mac Miller, Noah Kahan, Laufey, and beabadoobee have already taken place on the platform. We Are Large has additionally launched the primary style collective, The B-Side, for various music.
“We Are Large is primed to be a gamechanger for artists and followers alike, giving them the instruments they should higher join with each other in at present’s rapidly-paced digital age,” stated Steven Taslitz, Co-Founder and Chairman of Sterling Companions.
“We’re notably excited that We Are Large helps musicians to monetize their hard-earned artistic work. We all know there’s a vivid future forward for the platform, backed by such a robust management crew, who’ve confirmed experience in enterprise, music, artist relations, tech, and importantly, group constructing,” Taslitz added.
“We Are Large is primed to be a gamechanger for artists and followers alike, giving them the instruments they should higher join with each other in at present’s rapidly-paced digital age.”
Steven Taslitz, Sterling Companions
The launch of We Are Large comes amid rising investor urge for food for fan platforms. Final month, social media platform and residential for superfans Fave raised $2 million in an ongoing funding spherical that it expects will attain $6 million.
In Germany, Universal Music Group launched a fan platform known as YOUniverse, which the label describes as a “digital and interactive fan platform… the place followers can meet and work together, and in future even meet their idols.”
These efforts observe the success of HYBE’s fan platform Weverse in South Korea, which has attracted 10 million monthly active users (MAUs) as of the tip of Q2 2023.
Music Enterprise Worldwide
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