Photo Credit: Alexander Shatov
Creator-collaboration marketplace Pearpop has now raised a total of $16 million, including $10 million from a Series A as well as $6 million in “prior seed financing.”
Pearpop – which, like Clubhouse, Locker Room, and an array of other immediately successful platforms, debuted in 2020 – detailed the multimillion-dollar raise in a formal release. Florida-headquartered venture-capital firm Seven Seven Six led the Series A, whereas Ashton Kutcher and Guy Oseary’s Sound Ventures co-led the seed-funding round with Slow Ventures. Plus, Oseary co-founded Pearpop itself.
The roughly six-month-old app has received financial support from music-community angel investors such as The Weeknd, The Chainsmokers, Diddy, Marshmello, Snoop Dogg (who’s also a Pearpop user), and Tyga. MrBeast and his Night Media Ventures, Mark Cuban, and Kevin Hart (via HartBeat Ventures) represent some of Pearpop’s other backers.
Pearpop, which launched on TikTok and has since attracted roughly 10,000 creators, dedicates a substantial portion of the release to highlighting the success that it’s had in helping TikTokers to bolster their presence and increase fan interest in their work. Many companies and professionals today offer services designed to assist artists in promoting their music on the app.
Also worth noting is that social media-focused talent agencies are “beginning to also adopt pearpop as a way to further support clients,” with early adopters including TalentX. The latter closed a major partnership agreement with Sony Music Publishing last July, and the multifaceted deal encompasses artist support under the Sony Music banner as well as the establishment of jointly owned offices and record labels.
Addressing his vision for Pearpop’s future in a statement, Seven Seven Six founder Alexis Ohanian said: “Pearpop has the potential to benefit all social media platforms by delivering new users and engagement, while simultaneously leveling the playing field of opportunity for creators.
“The company has created a revolutionary new marketplace model that is set to completely reimagine how we think of social media monetization. As both a social media founder and an investor, I’m excited for what’s to come with pearpop,” he finished.
Pearpop co-founder and CEO Cole Mason added: “The initial concept came out of an obvious gap within the space: no marketplace existed for creators of all sizes to monetize through simple, authentic collaborations that are mutually beneficial.
“It soon became clear that this was a product that people had been waiting for, as thousands of people rely on our platform today to gain full control of their social capital for the first time starting with TikTok.”