Songclip has raised $11 million in a new funding round. Photo Credit: Markus Winkler
Music-integration platform Songclip has raised $11 million in a new funding round led by Evolution VC Partners founder Gregg Smith.
Songclip unveiled the multimillion-dollar capital influx this morning, via a formal release. In addition to Evolution VC Partners, a previous backer of Juul and Unity, the app-focused music-monetization tool attracted investors such as Philadelphia 76ers co-owner Michael Rubin, Lava Records and Publishing founder Jason Flom, and pop trio AJR.
Moreover, Songclip has now raised a total of $22 million, according to the announcement message, and intends to put these newest funds towards optimizing and growing “product offerings and search engine, data analytics and deployment of the API.” Plus, the four-year-old company will bring on “additional, diverse, top-tier talent” moving forward, though the text doesn’t elaborate upon this personnel expansion or the technology-development plans.
In a statement, Songclip co-founder and CEO Andy Blacker emphasized the significant – and highly lucrative – role that music plays in today’s quick-moving and app-driven technology landscape.
“Songclip’s mission is to protect music industry IP on behalf of the rights holders, while creating a pathway for apps to innovate with music. Music has become the most sought-after feature for dating, photo and fitness apps, and Songclip makes this possible, with accountability and industry compliance,” finished the ToneMedia co-founder Blacker.
Songclip co-founder and COO John vanSuchtelen added: “Songclip reimagined music in a new format designed specifically for social expression, discovery and creation. Our API and proprietary search engine make it easy for developers to leverage these key moments in any song, allowing for richer consumer interactions.”
With its stateside ban seemingly shelved (despite far-reaching privacy concerns from multiple individuals), TikTok has closed a number of high-profile deals as of late, including an expanded partnership with Universal Music last month.
Building upon the point, TikTok competitor Triller has become embroiled in a decidedly public licensing dispute with UMG, even though each of the Big Three labels reportedly has an interest in the short-form video-sharing app. Separately, a federal judge in late February dismissed the $50 million copyright infringement claim that Wixen Music Publishing levied against Triller.
YouTube Shorts, the Google-owned platform’s answer to TikTok, is set to make its stateside debut this month, while Facebook has moved forward with BARS, an experimental app designed for up-and-coming rappers who wish to collaborate remotely.
In other funding news, music licensing and distribution platform Songtradr completed a $30 million Series C in February, while January saw Clubhouse finalize a reportedly $100 million Series B.