LA Tech Updates: Wave's Roll Continues; TikTok Sweetens Deal for Music Stars

Sam Blake

Sam primarily covers entertainment and media for dot.LA. Previously he was Marjorie Deane Fellow at The Economist, where he wrote for the business and finance sections of the print edition. He has also worked at the XPRIZE Foundation, U.S. Government Accountability Office, KCRW, and MLB Advanced Media (now Disney Streaming Services). He holds an MBA from UCLA Anderson, an MPP from UCLA Luskin and a BA in History from University of Michigan. Email him at samblake@dot.LA and find him on Twitter @hisamblake

LA Tech Updates: Wave's Roll Continues; TikTok Sweetens Deal for Music Stars

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.


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    Indji Systems Introduces Groundbreaking Hail Detection Technology to Protect Solar Panels and Prevent Millions in Damages

    Decerry Donato

    Decerry Donato is a reporter at dot.LA. Prior to that, she was an editorial fellow at the company. Decerry received her bachelor's degree in literary journalism from the University of California, Irvine. She continues to write stories to inform the community about issues or events that take place in the L.A. area. On the weekends, she can be found hiking in the Angeles National forest or sifting through racks at your local thrift store.

    Indji Systems Introduces Groundbreaking Hail Detection Technology to Protect Solar Panels and Prevent Millions in Damages

    Last week, Indji Systems, a Los Angeles-based software and online services company added its new hail detection technology to its Indji Watch platform. The latest addition to its platform comes at a time when insurers are requiring these sites to demonstrate mitigation strategies and protocols to prevent significant damage to its assets and solar panels.

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    Decerry Donato

    Decerry Donato is a reporter at dot.LA. Prior to that, she was an editorial fellow at the company. Decerry received her bachelor's degree in literary journalism from the University of California, Irvine. She continues to write stories to inform the community about issues or events that take place in the L.A. area. On the weekends, she can be found hiking in the Angeles National forest or sifting through racks at your local thrift store.

    LA Tech ‘Moves’: Mapp Gains New CPO and CTO, Prodoscore Taps Boeing Exec
    LA Tech ‘Moves’:

    “Moves,” our roundup of job changes in L.A. tech, is presented by Interchange.LA, dot.LA's recruiting and career platform connecting Southern California's most exciting companies with top tech talent. Create a free Interchange.LA profile here—and if you're looking for ways to supercharge your recruiting efforts, find out more about Interchange.LA's white-glove recruiting service by emailing Sharmineh O’Farrill Lewis (sharmineh@dot.la). Please send job changes and personnel moves to moves@dot.la.

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    Decerry Donato

    Decerry Donato is a reporter at dot.LA. Prior to that, she was an editorial fellow at the company. Decerry received her bachelor's degree in literary journalism from the University of California, Irvine. She continues to write stories to inform the community about issues or events that take place in the L.A. area. On the weekends, she can be found hiking in the Angeles National forest or sifting through racks at your local thrift store.

    Raises
    Image by Joshua Letona

    A local space robotics startup raised fresh funding to expand the flight model manufacturing facilities throughout the U.S. and increase employment, while a remote litigation platform raised more funding to continue growing its footprint in new markets across the country, develop service channels for its clients and continue expanding its tech team.

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