NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 05: Steve Stoute attends the SelectCon 004 panel discussion with Issa Rae … [+]
Steve “The Commissioner” Stoute’s music startup UnitedMasters, music distribution and data analytics company has successfully recruited top execs from Uber UBER , Twitter and Adobe ADBE . The company continues to distinguish its music artist first platform that has 1.3 million independent users on it, from many of its competitors in the DIY distribution domain. These new hires could go a long way in uncovering new opportunities for revenue growth across the music industry by leveraging analytics to holistically monetize fans.
The Breakdown You Need To Know:
UnitedMasters said it has more than doubled its headcount over the past two years thanks to a major fundraise last year. In October 2021, the company raised a $50 million Series C round led by venture firm Andreessen Horowitz at a $550 million valuation. CultureBanx reported that UnitedMasters is using its capital injection to “bolster” its core mission of “empowering artists and creators to maintain full creative ownership over their careers while providing access to economic opportunity and millions of new fans worldwide through streaming, music licensing and brand partnership opportunities.”
“We are growing fast and these new additions to our leadership team will help us continue to scale and democratize the music industry,” said UnitedMasters founder and CEO Steve Stoute.
By providing a technical edge at scale, UnitedMasters is allowing artists to build out their fanbase at a community level. Artists give UnitedMasters 10% of their revenue in exchange for distribution support, and unlike a record label, UnitedMasters doesn’t own the artist’s masters, they get to keep them. It’simportant to note that independent music labels’ combined revenue in 2020 was $6.5 billion for and $7.0 billion for 2021, according to the IFPI. UnitedMasters wants to grab a big share of this market.
Situational Awareness:
What makes the platform so unique is that it’s set up to create a more equitable future for artists by distributing music across the range of digital platforms out there, think Spotify, Tidal (now Square), and Soundcloud. Then, it collects data on the artist’s listeners that they can use for advertising things like concerts and merchandise sales. Basically, UnitedMasters can check streams, fan and earnings data at a glance.
