Livestream Concerts Boomed During Lockdown. Are They Music's Future or Just a Pandemic Fad?
Oct 14 2020
Takeaways
- The music industry has increasingly turned to livestreamed concerts to try to make up for the massive losses sustained from the cancellation and postponement of in-person events due to the pandemic.
- An ongoing experiment is underway to find and develop the best technology and techniques for engaging fans and convincing them to pay for digital shows.
- Some themes are emerging in what works, what doesn't, and what's coming next.
Post Malone and his bandmates donned women's dresses while livestreaming a Nirvana tribute. British artist Yungblud livestreamed a performance reminiscent of a variety talk show. And Linkin Park's lead singer Mike Shinoda created a series of albums developed entirely in collaboration with his digital followers on Twitch.
Welcome to the new era of live concert-streaming.
<p>
With the pandemic effectively vaporizing the in-person concerts business, hamstrung artists and venues seeking alternative ways to engage fans have turned to livestreaming.
</p><p>
Although a livestreamed show cannot completely replicate an in-person concert, the medium also presents artists an untapped creative outlet – and a new challenge: to convince their fans that ticketed shows are worth the price of admission.
</p><p>
"These platforms have no filter. You're not hiding behind a stage full of pyrotechnics and a carefully crafted public messaging or marketing veneer; it's just you," Tim Westergren, founder of Bay Area-based streaming platform
<a href="https://sessionslive.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Sessions Live</a> and former co-founder of Pandora, told <a href="http://dot.la/" target="_self">dot.LA</a>.
</p><p>
It's a high-stakes challenge, as many artists have grown to
<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-do-musicians-make-money-2018-10" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">rely on live performances</a> for the majority of their income.
</p><p>
And as the pandemic runs its indefinite course, many companies are jockeying to provide artists, their teams and a music industry at large striving to stay afloat with the next generation of livestreaming infrastructure.
</p><p>
What has emerged is a vast, ongoing experiment to find the best way to engage fans and convince them to pay.
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://dot.la/media-library/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDUxNTAxNy9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxMTk5ODI3Nn0.X3Oe7kWDVNBEO4yjHJF-zhOF_TCTpK2YQZ2jBEXGFvY/image.png?width=980" id="ce968" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="9d641b2dab3bcc9f53263f79a1dd70e0" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Rapper, singer and songwriter Swae Lee performs on LiveXLive.</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">Courtesy of LiveXLive</small>
</p><h2>Born of Necessity
</h2><p>
Livestreaming didn't receive serious attention or investment before the pandemic, not least because
<a href="https://www.prosoundnetwork.com/live/concert-industry-continues-growth-in-2020" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">the in-person concert business was booming</a>. It wasn't until Q3 of this year that concert trade magazine Pollstar even began tracking livestreaming data.
</p><p>
But COVID-19 dealt the concerts business a serious sucker punch. Pollstar
<a href="https://www.pollstar.com/article/pollstar-projects-2020-total-box-office-would-have-hit-122-billion-144197" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">forecast in April</a> that artists, concert venues and labels were set to lose nearly $9 billion in revenue if live concerts didn't resume in 2020.
</p><p>
By August, Beverly Hills-based concert promoter Live Nation had
<a href="https://d1io3yog0oux5.cloudfront.net/_19bf23a09544b20863d611305c50fbbd/livenationentertainment/db/670/6151/earnings_release_pdf/LYV+2Q20+Release+Final.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">reported a 95% decline</a> in year-over-year concert revenues.
</p><p>
Following a frantic period of shutdowns, reopenings and weighing options, the music industry has realized that live concerts won't be back anytime soon. It is now scrambling to figure out how to make livestreaming work.
</p><p>
"There was some shellshock early on," said Prajit Gopal, founder of L.A.- and NYC-based
<a href="https://www.loopedlive.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">LoopedLive</a>, a streaming platform specialized in combining its 'digital venue' with a patented form of one-on-one digital meet-and-greets. "Over the last month or so, everybody is diving into it."
</p><p>
<a href="https://www.livexlive.com" target="_blank">LiveXLive</a>, for instance, a sprawling NASDAQ-listed music company based in West Hollywood, has
<a href="https://ir.livexlive.com/news/news-details/2020/LiveXLive-Announces-A-Record-55K-Quarterly-Increase-In-Paid-Subscribers-To-A-Total-Record-932K-Pay-Per-View-Revenue-Generates-1.35-Million-Drives-Record-Sponsorship-Deals-And-Reports-Additional-Key-2020-Year-To-Date-Operational-Metrics/default.aspx" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">amped up its livestreaming shows by 289%</a> over the last six months compared to the same period in 2019.
</p><p>
Greg Patterson, who'd previously been head of music at Eventbrite, told dot.LA that he saw L.A.-based
<a href="https://veeps.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Veeps</a> is "one of two or three companies that changed really quickly" in response to the pandemic, spinning up its first livestreamed show in March. Patterson joined Veeps in May to help the company develop its livestreaming business to complement its pre-existing suite of tools for 'long-tail artists,' such as direct-to-fan ticketing.
</p><p>
"Since then, there's been what feels like another company every 30 seconds," Patterson said, noting that the field remains very fluid. "It feels like the early 2000s startup period, where there were no rules."
</p><p>
"It's absolutely the wild West," said music industry veteran Stephen Prendergast. "To make it work we need people coming up with ideas and tech to make it more compelling; it can't be a flat, one-screen dimension."
</p><p>
In other words, artists sitting in their bedrooms and broadcasting on Instagram and Facebook won't cut it.
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://dot.la/media-library/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDUxNTAyNS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2MTQ5MTIyMX0.WVGduHVt-IrvSZMr7XQVoxvFNC6vUVfs9c3TjSLKE4o/image.png?width=980" id="be035" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="ab2e825696933921c47d7efcf70b701c" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">Image courtesy of Veeps</small></p><h2>More Than a Concert
</h2><p>
New solutions have sprung up to do what concerts do best: put fans in the same space as the bands they love. But because a digital show has its limitations, there are also ongoing efforts to provide fans with online experiences that they wouldn't find at a traditional concert.
</p><p>
"I always say, 'do things in digital that you can't do in the real world'," LiveXLive President Dermot McCormack told dot.LA.
</p><p>
Many streaming services have started to provide coaching services to help artists exploit the unique opportunities a digital platform affords, and increasingly so as data comes in showing what works and what doesn't.
</p><p>
"If you do the same thing over and over again, people won't want to tune in," Gopal, LoopedLive's CEO, told dot.LA. When his company hosted a livestreamed show for the cast of "Hamilton," the performers used LoopedLive's private meet-and-greet feature for more than 'Hi, how are you.' Lin Manuel-Miranda, for instance, regaled fans with freestyle raps about a topic of their choice, and some cast members gave quick dance lessons.
</p><p>
During Grammy-winner Brandi Carlile's Veeps stream in early October, she and her band paused the show for a 30-minute fan Q&A that spanned topics from whether the band ever gets on each other's nerves to how life has been during the quarantine and the status of Carlile's forthcoming book. The band then obliged a fan's request to sing happy birthday to her daughter.
</p><p>
McCormack pointed to a 20-minute Q&A one artist hosted in the middle of a LiveXLive-hosted performance. "The fans lapped it up," he said. "We had to switch off the comments, they were moving so quickly."
</p><p>
Fans also seem to like when artists lean in to the sort of unmediated intimacy that accompanies livestreaming. "Artists'll play a song and go 'fuck, let me start again' – fans love that; in comes a basket of tips when that happens. It's about relatability and connection," said Westergren.
</p><p>
For K-Pop artist James Lee, "there's definitely a rush" that comes with livestreaming. Lee, who has performed on Sessions, told dot.LA that, "I have not been on stage in over a year. [Streaming] feels very intimate. There is more of a burden because nobody is in the room with you and everything depends on me."
</p><p>
Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda took that intimacy to another level with his three-volume album, "Dropped Frames." Shinoda's fans on Twitch suggested themes and lyrics that he transposed into songs, some of which even included fan-submitted vocals.
</p><p>
More such experimentation is likely to come.
<a href="https://dice.fm" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">DICE</a> general manager of North American operations Shanna Jade Vélez told dot.LA she is "expecting to see a lot more innovation when it comes to interactivity." The company began operating before the pandemic as a live-ticketing discovery platform, available in seven countries. It has since streamed over 4,000 shows and sold tickets in 145 countries.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://dot.la/media-library/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDUxNTAyNi9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0MTcwNjkwOH0.HxwADLM3eIMr4eieTH2FsOHho4EvmzqPEqnMcXwIKTM/image.jpg?width=980" id="0d839" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="5900b73e28e1797cf67da4a3f88f083c" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">K-Pop megastars MonstaX perform on LiveXLive's platform. </small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">Courtesy of LiveXLive</small>
</p><h2>Putting on a Show
</h2><p>
Live chat has become a regular feature of livestreamed concerts, enabling concertgoers to message one another.
<a href="https://www.mandolin.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Mandolin</a> offers private chat rooms for groups of fans to congregate; the Indianapolis-based company launched in response to the pandemic and <a href="https://www.insideindianabusiness.com/story/42734907/indy-livestream-startup-secures-seed-funding" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">recently raised $5 million</a> in seed funding.
</p><p>
Other startups are working to translate fan input – like clicking 'like' buttons – into a crowd roar that gets transmitted to musicians on the other side of the screen.
<a href="https://live.fantracks.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">FanTracks</a> is one such service. It's also providing concertgoers a "director's chair" that gives them the option to toggle camera views. And it is one of many platforms experimenting with augmented reality to "transport" the performers to different locations.
</p><p>
Peter Shapiro, owner of several venues including the Brooklyn Bowl, is founder of
<a href="https://fans.live" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Fans</a>, a concert-streaming platform that transports audience members themselves, by allowing them to beam their video-feeds onto screens at venues where livestreamed performances are held. The technique is similar to how the <a href="https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a33510455/nba-virtual-fan-seats-video-board-explained-how-to-sign-up-cost/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">NBA has allowed its fans</a> to project their video-feeds onto screens in the stands.
</p><p>
Taking virtual transportation a step further, L.A.-based
<a href="https://wavexr.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Wave</a> renders musicians into digital avatars who interact with and perform for fans in otherworldly settings where the laws of physics are optional. The company <a href="https://dot.la/wave-virtual-concerts-2646166627.html" target="_self">raised $30 million in June</a> and has hosted concerts by John Legend and The Weeknd. Produced <a href="https://dot.la/the-weeknds-concert-on-besieged-tiktok-2646923010.html" target="_self">in partnership with TikTok</a>, the Weeknd's show reportedly attracted 2 million unique viewers.
</p><p>
Similar to Travis Scott's
<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/23/21233637/travis-scott-fortnite-concert-astronomical-live-report" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">virtual concert series</a> in April – where a giant, digital rendering of the hip-hop artist performed for over 27 million viewers across five shows hosted on Epic Games' Fortnite – Wave concerts are created with gaming engines and can be accessed by viewers via PC, gaming consoles or VR headsets. Unlike the Scott concert, however, which was pre-recorded and then rendered into Fortnite's virtual venue, Wave's avatars perform in real-time.
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube">
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="6f60f3956d3f9d15cd011e95321589d3"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wtIrqoQFsos?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">The TikTok live event featuring the Weeknd and Wave's technology brought aspects of gaming to live concerts.</small>
</p><p>
Whether artists perform as an avatar or their unvarnished selves, Veeps has found that fans seem to prefer some degree of predictability on what they will see in a livestream. Similarly, Vélez said DICE is finding that fans want "a reason" to purchase a ticket. Some artists are turning to filming shows at big, deserted, "hauntingly beautiful" sets like churches and palaces, she said.
</p><p>
Patterson added that shorter shows, around 45 minutes, also seem to perform well, and noted that the user interface must be premium.
</p><p>
"It has to be on the level of watching a movie on Netflix or Disney Plus," the Veeps executive said. "If you mess it up, with so many other options, no one's going to want to come back."
</p><p>
Anyone who's shelled out $100 for a concert wouldn't necessarily point to the auxiliary pieces surrounding a show – the lighting, the refreshments, the bathrooms – as key to the experience. It's the performance that matters. But in the digital world, the areas ancillary to the performance are opportunities for virtual venues to distinguish themselves. So says L.A.-based streaming platform Moment House.
</p><p>
"If you make fans feel that they're part of this very elegant, premium and special place of a moment, we can make this a cultural phenomenon,"
<a href="https://www.momenthouse.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Moment House</a> co-founder Arjun Mehta told dot.LA. "We saw that thesis in our beta stage play out really nicely."
</p><p>
Moment House debuts this month, with a focus on user experience. Mehta developed the idea as a student in the inaugural class of USC's Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy, a program that focuses on the intersection of design, engineering, management and communication. The company has <a href="https://musically.com/2020/10/13/livestreaming-startup-moment-house-raises-1-5m-from-starry-seed-investors/" target="_blank">raised a $1.5 million seed round</a> led by Forerunner Ventures with investors including Scooter Braun, Troy Carter and actor Jared Leto. </p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://dot.la/media-library/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDUxNTAzNS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxODYzODIyNH0.CdvC7gG44kHVZ5s3UmuwV4hXwbNSGmrvEUF1Vk3x7bQ/image.png?width=980" id="67994" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="0172bf17bd88b2de86e0cbee7e4a62c4" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">DICE began operating before the pandemic as a global live-ticketing discovery platform. It has since streamed over 4,000 shows and sold tickets in 145 countries.</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">Image courtesy of DICE</small></p><h2>What's Next?</h2><p>
As this experiment continues and the culture and technology of virtual performances grows, we could be entering a new paradigm for musicians and their audiences.
</p><p>
"The early-90s internet is unrecognizable compared to what we have today and I think visual content and music will become unrecognizable to what we have now," Patterson of Veeps said.
</p><p>
One example of new technology that could open a world of possibilities is
<a href="https://alohabyelk.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Aloha by Elk</a>, which launches in beta this month and will allow musicians to play together in real time from hundreds of miles away.
</p><p>
"Playing together over the internet is something that musicians have been dreaming about since Skype: 'We can talk, but why can't we play?'" Michele Benincaso, founder of the Stockholm-based Elk Audio, the company behind Aloha, told dot.LA. The answer: latency.
</p><p>
The delay between someone speaking over Zoom or Skype and someone else hearing it is usually between 500 milliseconds and 1 second. The delay itself often fluctuates, a process known as "jitter." These issues make playing together on beat effectively impossible.
</p><p>
Solving these problems, as Aloha aims to do, would clear the way to a whole new path for livestreamed concerts.
</p><p>
"I could think of hundreds of examples for things that haven't been done today," said Sharooz Raoofi, a musician and tech entrepreneur who splits his time between L.A. and London. He is one of a few artists who's worked with Aloha prior to its upcoming beta launch.
</p><p>
"If you think about legendary festival performances, like when a guest vocalist jumps on stage and sings a track – that can't be done in digital unless it's latency free," Raoofi told dot.LA. "Even in the best of times, trying to get musicians together is tricky – more so if it's multiple bands. Doing that remotely without any latency could be a game changer."
</p><p>
For now, the maximum distance Aloha can manage is about 1,000 miles, enough to allow musicians in different countries to play together. As this technology develops and the distance grows, however, the possibilities may become virtually endless.
</p><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/430996510" width="100%" height="480" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="6ac97986d94e2c1e21116cc859d1977c"></iframe><h2>A Band-Aid or a Bridge to the Future?
</h2><p>
Whether livestreaming becomes an enduring pillar of the music industry or fades into a fad once the pandemic dies down will depend on whether it can bring in enough money and deliver a new kind of experience.
</p><p>
"I was really struck that someone made $10,000 in a show with 300 people attending – and I can guarantee you there's not a room anywhere in the world that that artist could sell out," Westergren said of a performer who streamed on Sessions. "Historically there are only two ways for an artist to get paid like that. One is to spend years on a stage, grinding and touring. The other is to get plucked out of obscurity by the powers that be."
</p><p>
"Livestreaming can solve that, but only if you have monetization," he said.
</p><p>---</p><p><em>Sam Blake primarily covers entertainment for dot.LA. Find him on Twitter @hisamblake and email him at samblake@dot.LA</em><br></p>
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The Pandemic Has Changed the Music Industry Forever. Meet the LA Music-Tech Startups Poised to Reshape It.
Aug 19 2020
- The pandemic has ravaged the music industry, but music-tech companies are poised to drive its growth into an industry where a music company is much more than music.
- Los Angeles is home to a bustling ecosystem of startups empowering musicians through a variety of next-generation technologies.
- The Takeaway: Innovations in music-tech offer new tools to independent artists to help them create music, manage money, reach fans and share their music in vivid, immersive ways.
<p>
The pandemic has hushed the music industry. Throbbing concert crowds have disappeared, artists' sales have plummeted and musicians' overall <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/05/this-is-how-covid-19-is-affecting-the-music-industry/" target="_blank">income has fallen precipitously</a>. But a handful of Los Angeles-based tech startups are providing musicians with everything from socially-distanced collaborative recording to simplified back-office accounting.<br>
</p><p>
"The L.A. music-tech scene is primed to drive this industry forward," says Ed Buggé, partner at L.A.-based entertainment law firm Hertz Lichtenstein & Young. "It's a hugely exciting time in the industry, with startup-driven disruption enabling new models for artists and media companies alike."
</p><p>
Buggé, who advises some of the world's leading tech and media companies, says the ecosystem of music-tech startups is poised to accelerate two big trends in the music industry.
</p><p>
One is the rise of independent artists. In 2018, indies – artists who own most or all of their material – <a href="https://www.midiaresearch.com/reports/independent-artists" target="_blank">earned 6.6% of total recorded music revenues.</a> That's a 78% growth rate from 2015, which <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/pro/features/diy-artists-will-earn-more-than-1-billion-this-year-no-wonder-the-major-labels-want-their-business-830863/" target="_blank">makes independent artists the fastest growing segment of the recorded music market</a>. Entertainment research firm MIDiA says this change <a href="https://www.midiaresearch.com/reports/independent-artist-survey#become-a-client" target="_blank">"could prove to be more impactful than even the rise of streaming."</a>
</p><p>
The other trend startups are speeding up is the transformation of what a music company even is.
</p><p>
"Music is no longer just music," says Buggé, adding that audio is becoming inseparable from technologies spanning artificial intelligence, gaming, social media, as well as augmented and virtual reality.
</p><h2>Recording Studios at Home
</h2><p>
Musicians today have far more access to high-quality production tools and capabilities than they once did.
</p><p>
Software packages like Logic Pro or Ableton have brought the recording studio's physical equipment and professional engineers right into an artist's living room, saving them thousands of dollars.
</p><p>
"In 2020, all you really need is the essentials – your phone, your laptop, and a good pair of headphones," says Americo Garcia, aka <a href="https://open.spotify.com/artist/4m1yRHUMhvB8gKAJTjK4kO" target="_blank">Boombox Cartel</a>. Add in a good $100 microphone or two and an instrument and you've got a home studio.
</p><p>
"Back in the day you'd have to ship reels of tape and jump hoops and loops just to make a song happen. Nowadays you can email someone in Poland and say, 'hey man, let's start something,'" Garcia says. In addition to tools like Dropbox that enable file-sharing across the world, several companies have emerged to help musicians find and work with each other.
</p><p>
"If you think you need a label to blow up, you're wrong," Garcia says.
</p><h2>Meet Your Bandmates</h2>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://dot.la/media-library/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzU2NDgyNy9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1NjQ1NjUxN30.WPzxOmOeWfRcUTNHvrPYT4MEq3vyN4WHhUkyX9Bcv7Y/image.png?width=980" id="628fb" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="65d41b028416e445cdf3b9c5e195a5d1" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Musicians' Jammcard profiles help them to collaborate
<p>L.A.-based <a href="https://jammcard.com/" target="_blank">Jammcard</a> has been called the "LinkedIn for musicians." Founded in 2017 by professional drummer Elmo Lovano, the company has nearly 10,000 members and has raised around $2 million from Quincy Jones, Twitch co-founder Kevin Lin and Lionsgate President Robby Melnick.</p><p>Lovano formed the company to streamline the process by which professional musicians find each other, rather than relying on word-of-mouth. He estimates that as many as 95% of Jammcard members are independent, and that their median income is around $70,000.</p><p>"A lot of the people that are on Jammcard are the people that support the big artists; Kendrick Lamar's not on Jammcard, but his entire band and crew are," Lovano says. "Sound engineers, stage managers, guitar techs – we like to say that it's for 'anyone that's on the bus or in the studio'."</p><p>Lovano says Jammcard is finalizing partnerships with Sony and Fender and has recently expanded its platform to enable digital payments to members for collaborating, performing and teaching. Jammcard also recently partnered with New York-based <a href="https://splice.com" target="_blank">Splice</a>, an online music production service that offers downloadable samples and plugins that make it "a lot more accessible and intuitive to start creating music," says Ankur Patel, Splice's head of corporate development. Jammcard's artists can host their sound samples on Splice and share in the proceeds.</p>
<p>
<a href="https://soundstorming.com/" target="_blank">Soundstorming</a> is another L.A. company using tech to enable artistic collaborations. Users upload small segments of their self-produced audio files, allowing other members on the platform to provide feedback and even layer in their own bass grooves, vocal melodies, and drum beats to collectively compose a new track.<br>
</p><h2>Build Your Own Label
</h2><p>
Former UTA agent Milana Lewis created <a href="https://stem.is/" target="_blank">Stem Disintermedia</a> in 2015 to "alleviate back office work so an artist can eliminate those costs and release content more easily."
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image image-crop-4x3">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://dot.la/media-library/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzU2NDgzNy9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1ODY0ODI0OX0.pWF64e99T6hiJHaHfTXrdeaa70RCcrg6TMhcouZzPCw/image.jpg?width=2000&coordinates=211%2C1702%2C198%2C1964&height=1500" id="42ef4" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="3afb4c3879ec1b87b7f681591733cc81" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Stem co-founder and CEO Milana Rabkin Lewis</small>
</p><p>
As an agent, Lewis saw how the complexities of music copyright were depriving musicians of opportunities to make money. "The administrative work was too burdensome for any individual artist to do," she told dot.LA. Artists would give up and say, ''I'm just going to put it up for free'" on sites like YouTube and Soundcloud.
</p><p>
Stem has raised over $12 million in funding, including two rounds from L.A. firm Upfront Ventures. The startup also recently launched its own $100 million debt-financing arm to allow artists to borrow money against their existing catalogs.
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://dot.la/media-library/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzU2NDg0OC9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzMzIwODA0MX0.hVGcHFix-9uoxfeq_qMZn1uUUqEyG3WAqiiS6mf2vHU/image.png?width=980" id="47b09" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="c711613438422424bf982e03559e0a19" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Stem's interface helps artists and their managers track their finances</small>
</p><p>
<a href="https://createmusicgroup.com/" target="_blank">Create Music Group</a>, another startup formed in 2015 that helps artists take control of their accounting and distribution, has a similar origin story.<br>
</p><p>
"We realized the YouTube landscape was poorly mismanaged," recalls Sam Casucci, partner and senior vice president of digital strategy at Create, recently named the second-fastest growing company in the country in <a href="https://www.inc.com/inc5000" target="_blank">the annual Inc. 5000 list.</a> Create employs about 120 people and serves over 10,000 clients – mostly indie artists and labels, the company says. "There was a lot of music and (rights holders) who weren't getting paid what they should be," Casucci says. Create has since built technology on top of YouTube's rights-management platform to help artists make money.
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://dot.la/media-library/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzU2NDg0NC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1MTAyMTMyOX0.Dscpj9oxYKyx6-dye-p0WwEkNEAeNt4kG10a6mgg0fs/image.jpg?width=980" id="d272e" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="606931ca6494f1c234e49b4707d3dec9" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Create Music Group's Hollywood office</small>
</p><p>
Independent artist and Create client Ray J told dot.LA, "They help you study everything that's going on and help you find money you might not have even known existed."
</p><p>
"When you sign to a major label you don't really get to see what's going on behind the scenes," says Ray J. "You can become your own record label now."
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image image-crop-16x9">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://dot.la/media-library/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzU2NDg0MS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0Mjg2MTE3Nn0.P2GltSXW2-xLoudj0GTOz3dJC3Tqi6U-ZaqGjSITds4/image.png?width=1245&coordinates=0%2C29%2C0%2C552&height=700" id="3c618" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="6fde8d6674a1a7114390675ab398e010" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Create's dashboard to help musicians manage their copy rights</small>
</p><h2>Get Paid<br>
</h2><p>
Elsewhere in L.A., <a href="https://pex.com/" target="_blank">Pex</a> helps artists manage their monetization by following the data associated with their songs across the web. Wilson Hays, head of business development, says Pex monitors over 20 billion songs and videos on dozens of social media platforms.
</p><p>
The company indexes all that data – which comprises over three-times as much content as what's on YouTube, Hays says – and uses patented technology to allow the people behind the music to track and measure its online activity. It even allows artists to easily issue take-down notices if they wish.
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://dot.la/media-library/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzU2NDg0OS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYwNjA3ODA4Nn0.zlGf6lj3n8ozN3qDo0d8gw7s8l6PkcfomAQs0Zea-78/image.png?width=980" id="a02ae" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="ee0d1d19ef45970df5be8d0d6339e9e2" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Pex's song-tracking dashboard</small>
</p><p>
"YouTube has Content ID and Facebook has Rights Manager, but outside those platforms, in the wild, you don't know how your content is being shared, moved, monetized, or pirated," Hays says. "We want to put control back in rights holders' hands."<br>
</p><p>
That sort of control offers benefits to artists that they wouldn't necessarily have with a traditional label deal. One benefit is that payments come in faster. It also gives artists more freedom to manage their career trajectory.
</p><p>
And that freedom gives artists the choice in how they use the many emerging mediums by which they can share their music.
</p><h2>Reach an Audience
</h2><p>
An artist who wants to interact directly with fans can post their songs on a host website like YouTube, TikTok, Soundcloud or Bandcamp and chat with their audiences on social media channels. But these platforms have limitations.
</p><p>
A post on Instagram, for example, carries no guarantee that it will reach an artist's fans; most followers do not see every post. Artists must also contend with the fact that the interests of social media platforms are not always aligned with their own.
</p><p>
Jake Udell, a music manager and entrepreneur with a reputation for digital wizardry, recognized social media's limitations early on.
</p><p>
"The thing I kept noticing was that the algorithms were making it really challenging for us to reach our audiences," Udell told dot.LA. "I didn't think there was a fix, though. We'd given up and sort of ceded our audiences to these social platforms."
</p><p>
Then he conducted an experiment. Tickets went on sale for an artist of his who had about twice as many fans in L.A. than New York. Not surprisingly, about twice as many purchases came in for the L.A. shows than the New York ones. Udell then decided to collect around 1,000 phone numbers from fans at a New York show.
</p><p>
"We found some random texting service online and just blasted them out," he recalls. "What happened next changed the way I thought about building audiences online forever."
</p><p>
7,000 tickets to two New York shows immediately sold out. <a href="https://artofamanager.com/2018/02/artist-texting-is-the-new-craze/" target="_blank">Udell wrote about it on his blog</a>, which is how he met Matthew Pelltier, chief executive of L.A.-based <a href="https://community.com/" target="_blank">Community.com</a>, where Udell is now head of activation.
</p><p>
"The algorithm has not really been an enabler" for musicians, Udell says. "What if we could just meet the fans where they're already at?"
</p><p>
That's exactly what Community does, he says, by providing artists (and other "Leaders") a SaaS platform for exchanging text messages with fans en masse.
</p><p>
"I think about it like this," Udell says. "How many social platforms have you joined over the last 10 years? Versus how many times did your phone number change?...The phone number is a true atomic unit of identity; it's not going anywhere."
</p><p>
What's more, Udell says 98% of text messages get opened in the first three minutes.
</p><p>
"On other platforms there's a guarantee of instant publishing, but there's no guarantee of instant distribution," he says. Whereas with Community, "the idea that you will always be able to reach your fans, this community, via text, is a really empowering thing not just for you personally but for your business."
</p><p>
Big-timers like Jennifer Lopez use Community, as do aspiring local band types. Prices depend on audience size. One feature: ability to segment fan outreach so that, for instance, a band coming to a specific town can message only the locals – "See you at the show tonight?"
</p><h2>Tour Virtually
</h2><p>
Wave turns performers into digital avatars and puts them on virtual stages where they can entertain and interact with fans, who tune in via VR headset, gaming console or web browser.
</p><p>
"We started the company four years ago to help musicians make money," <a href="https://wavexr.com/" target="_blank">Wave</a> chief executive Adam Arrigo told dot.LA. "We've been touring musicians and we know how hard it is."
</p><p>
Wave has now hosted over 50 events. Its recent concert featuring The Weeknd in partnership with TikTok <a data-linked-post="2646923010" href="https://dot.la/the-weeknds-concert-on-besieged-tiktok-2646923010.html" target="_blank">reportedly drew a digital audience</a> of over 2 million fans.
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://dot.la/media-library/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzU2NDg1MS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzNTc0OTYyOX0.LPZMZWipBamYsrPT8hxnLSZ0AamP4hN3ugroBwtRPJs/image.png?width=980" id="698f4" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="c11631bd2cd2da7e040b1a08b2815a6e" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">A Wave concert of Swedish band Galantis</small>
</p><p>
Arrigo says his former role as a designer for the Rock Band video game franchise showed him how novel technologies can empower musicians.<br>
</p><p>
"From working on that game I learned that when you create new experiences you can create additional revenue streams for the industry," he says.
</p><p>
Building on a blueprint established in part by L.A.-based <a href="http://www.brud.fyi/" target="_blank">Brud</a> (whose digital influencer and singer <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lilmiquela/?hl=en" target="_blank">Lil' Miquela currently has 2.6 million Instagram followers</a> and attracts <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWeHb_SrtJbrT8VD-_QQpRA" target="_blank">millions of views on YouTube</a>), <a href="https://strangeloop-studios.com/" target="_blank">Strangeloop Studios</a> is currently designing a cast of animated characters of its own.
</p><p>
Co-founder and chief executive Ian Simon, who is also on the creative team at Wave, says, "the long-term vision is to be a studio; to bring in storytellers and visual artists and creators to tell stories using these characters. The characters are a medium in themselves."
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image image-crop-16x9">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://dot.la/media-library/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzU2NDg2Mi9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyMDk0MTQ5OH0.2u4Jl20-ZsS2IoBPWbJBOBO--6EdbmVd6yxfWBMCr_A/image.jpg?width=1245&coordinates=0%2C824%2C0%2C825&height=700" id="2d48c" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="631605323631149e2ec18c363cb4c57c" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">A character from Strangeloop Studios' virtual artist label, Spirit Bomb</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">Strangeloop Studios</small>
</p><p>
Those characters present musicians with scalable creative opportunities. "You can play the same show with the same character in multiple places at the same time," Simon says. "They're vessels for human collaboration – multiple musicians contributing songs, various visual artists creating content and fans informing the narrative and aesthetic trajectory of the characters."<br>
</p><p>
"People are already listening to music on screens, even if the screen isn't really being leveraged," says Simon, whose small team includes former visual designers for megastars like Kendrick Lamar and Flying Lotus.
</p><h2>Immersive Music</h2><p>
<a href="https://virvii.com/" target="_blank">ViRvii</a> – a portmanteau of virtual, visual, and immersive – gives artists a new "paintbrush" for creating immersive fan experiences, says founder Juan Dueñas, who formerly founded My Mixtapez and was an early user of Oculus' development kit.
</p><p>
Dueñas says ViRvii will allow fans to "hang out" inside The Beatles' Yellow Submarine while the album plays in the background, for instance. Contemporary artists will be able to design VR experiences to accompany their releases. Despite the high-tech approach, Dueñas says he wants users to be able to get a homespun feeling of "sitting around a stereo or record player and smoking a joint and drinking a beer with friends and listening to your favorite album."
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://dot.la/media-library/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzU2NTE1Ni9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0ODMyNjg3NH0.4Zh0Ng5dMUM1ex1Om6FtZcM_MVFFd6VtWF6cs4k1rec/image.png?width=980" id="76310" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="7c57a0a0d666f337408736e857c9e799" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">ViRvii's continuous VR world will immerse fans into albums</small>
</p><p>
Formed in 2019 and now with a staff of 30, the L.A.-based startup <a href="https://dot.la/explaining-big-techs-la-for-vr-2646036087.html" target="_blank">recently announced a partnership with Facebook and its Oculus VR subsidiary</a>.<br>
</p><p>
<a href="https://www.splashmob.app/" target="_blank">Splashmob</a> gives performers control of their audience's cell phone screens. They can preprogram the screens of anyone who opts in with features like polls, audiovisual media to accompany the main show, and merchandise sales portals. The screens can also be controlled in real-time, not unlike an effects technician manipulating phone screens rather than lights and sound.
</p><p>
Founder Blaise Thomas was formerly a sound engineer in London, where his work in recording studios and live performances got him thinking about how to enhance concerts, whether in-person or streamed.
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://dot.la/media-library/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzU2NDg2OC9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYwNjg2MjI0Mn0._EFPNkWwMC5R5GYvAfsML25obs9HfaxTIWuOBTcvoV0/image.png?width=980" id="559ce" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="b385f8c62957fa443595c70ebbdcc7cf" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Splashmob's control panel gives performers the power to curate audience members' phone screens</small>
</p><p>
"The flashlight on the phone is all well and good," Thomas says, "but how far can that go?"<br>
</p><p>
Splashmob has collaborated with Dani Van de Sande and her L.A. startup, <a href="https://www.ulo.world" target="_blank">ULO</a>, which along with Splashmob and Strangeloop was part of the 2020 Techstars Music cohort.
</p><p>
"Imagine you're wandering around Melrose Avenue on your way to dinner," Van de Sande writes, "and out of the corner of your eye you spot a bright, iridescent light. It looks otherworldly, like something from another universe."
</p><p>
These cocoon-like walk-in installations, called ULOs ("unidentified landing objects"), offer immersive, interactive experiences for the adventurous souls who enter. ULO plans to dot them around city-scapes.
</p><p>
"We're another avenue where artists can do something beyond releasing a video – by creating an experience for people," says Van de Sande, who formerly worked on augmented reality at L.A.-based Snap.
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<a href="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzU2NDg3MC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxNDcyMzQ4OH0.SWZUZGH1mIk7gXpYKH2ZLhlycs_E-zdAxTNXdT6NGbE/img.jpg?width=980" target="_blank"><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzU2NDg3MC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxNDcyMzQ4OH0.SWZUZGH1mIk7gXpYKH2ZLhlycs_E-zdAxTNXdT6NGbE/img.jpg?width=980" id="d1c3f" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="f3becabf57b005207d04fefb9ec8c09a" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image"></a>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">The Pandemic Has Changed the Music Industry Forever. Meet the LA Music-Tech Startups Poised to Reshape It.</small>
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">
StillVika
</small>
</p><p>
These new visually oriented channels for sharing music may help to shrink the gap between the ear and the eye that Spotify founder Daniel Ek often invokes when he describes the growth potential for his company. Why, he has publicly wondered, is the total video market worth around 10-times more than audio, even though consumers spend about equal time with each?<br>
</p><h2>Get a Side Gig
</h2><p>
<a href="https://www.cameo.com/" target="_blank">Cameo</a> offers anybody with over 20,000 Instagram followers the opportunity to build a profile on its platform and set a price for which they will record a personalized video message. The company was formed in Chicago, but its chief executive Steven Galanis recently moved to L.A. With his move, <a href="https://dot.la/cameo-ceo-on-his-move-to-l-a-and-his-companys-future-2646225672.html" target="_blank">Cameo's center of gravity has shifted</a>.
</p><p>
"L.A. is the best place for me to be for Cameo right now," Galanis recently told dot.LA. "I've been focused on being the tech company to work for in Chicago and I think that's mission accomplished in many ways. Now my objective is to make Cameo that place in L.A."
</p><p>
L.A. was once the destination for artists with a guitar case and a dream. Now, many of them can pursue those dreams from home. Music-tech companies, however, are flocking in.
</p><p>
"It's not an accident that Techstars Music is in L.A.," says Bob Moczydlowsky, who runs the accelerator, which recently <a href="https://www.f6s.com/musicaccelerator-2021/apply" target="_blank">opened its 2021 cohort application</a>, with an emphasis on attracting a diverse candidate pool. Moczydlowsky attributes L.A.'s centrality in this flourishing wave of music and tech innovation to two main factors. First is the access to an ecosystem of artists, managers, labels and touring companies. Second is the venture money in Silicon Valley.
</p><p>
"L.A. is less than an hour from the money and down the street from the culture," he says.
</p><p>
The growing entrepreneurial energy in L.A. looks set to provide Angelenos a front-row seat to a new, lasting stage for entertainment technology innovation.
</p><p>
---
</p><ul class="ee-ul">
</ul><p>
<em>Sam Blake primarily covers entertainment and media for dot.LA. Follow him on Twitter @hisamblake and email him at samblake@dot.LA</em><br>
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Here are the latest updates on news affecting Los Angeles' startup and tech communities. Sign up for our newsletter and follow dot.LA on Twitter for more.
Today:
- Virtual concert creator Wave adds Netflix executive to C-Suite
- TikTok signs music distribution deal with UnitedMasters
Wave Reels in Former Netflix Exec as New CMO
Tina Rubin is Wave's new chief marketing officer
Wave, a startup that transforms musicians into avatars for interactive virtual concerts, has reeled in former Netflix executive Tina Rubin as its chief marketing officer, the company announced Monday.
The L.A.-based entertainment company has been on a winning streak lately, closing a $30 million round in early June and scoring partnerships with Grammy-award winners John Legend and The Weeknd. It's also beefed up its C-suite, adding former Riot Games executive Jarred Kennedy as chief operating officer last month.
Rubin, who oversaw strategy for Netflix's young adult and family division (including Stranger Things and Umbrella Academy), will focus on ticketing, merchandise, product development and brand awareness at Wave. She'll also build out new ways for artists and their fans to interact remotely.
"I look forward to helping Wave connect music fans with the artists they love in even more immersive and accessible ways," Rubin said in a statement.
Earlier this month, Wave designed the avatar and set for The Weeknd's virtual concert on TikTok, which broadcast the show via its main @TikTok account. Wave representatives reported the performance attracted 275,000 peak concurrent viewers – the most in TikTok history – and 1.2 million total unique viewers, a record for a solo artist's performance on the platform.
Wave, founded in 2016, has now hosted over 50 concerts. Originally conceived as a virtual reality-concert platform, the company has expanded and now distributes its concerts across social media, gaming platforms and VR headsets.
Rubin replaces Wave interim CMO Jeremy Welt.
TikTok Signs Music Distribution Deal with UnitedMasters
TikTok Doles Out Money to Creators, Batting Away Rivals
Short-form video-sharing app TikTok announced a deal with indie music distributor UnitedMasters on Monday that will make it easier for artists and creators who go viral on the platform to get their music up on streaming platforms like Apple Music and Spotify.
It comes as President Donald Trump has ordered ByteDance, the company's Chinese owner, to divest within 90 days from its U.S. operations.
The move gives musicians an easier way to leverage their success on TikTok without needing a middleman such as a record label to get their songs onto streaming platforms.
The partnership is the first distribution deal struck by the company, which earlier this year hired former Disney executive Kevin Mayer as its CEO. TikTok has also recently fortified its partnerships with several music publishers so that users can include songs in their videos without worrying about infringing on copyright.
TikTok thinks it can leverage the UnitedMasters deal to draw in more top and trending artists such as Curtis Roach, Curtis Waters, Breland, Tai Verdes and BMW Kenny. The deal will complement TikTok's recently announced $1 billion Creator Fund to pay top TikTokkers, as the company tries to attract and retain creative talent amid growing competition in the short-form video space.
UnitedMasters, launched in 2017 by former Interscope executive Steve Stoute, also arranges music deals with brands like ESPN and the NBA.
From Your Site Articles
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