US-based online music distributor UnitedMasters emerged from stealth yesterday with $70m in a funding round led by internet technology conglomerate Alphabet with participation from film studio 20th Century Fox, TechCrunch reported.
The funding was raised at an undisclosed date in 2016 and the round also featured venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz.
UnitedMasters’ website lists VC firm Floodgate and advertising agency Translation as investors, but details about their financial commitments have not emerged. The UnitedMasters name was registered as a trademark by Translation Enterprises in March 2016.
UnitedMasters has created a software platform that functions as an alternative to traditional record labels, enabling musicians to distribute their music to streaming services such as YouTube and SoundCloud.
The platform provides analytics and a customer relationship management tool, and facilitates retargeted advertising campaigns. Musicians retain the rights to their master recordings while royalties are split with UnitedMasters.
The company was founded by Steve Stoute, formerly president of Interscope Records, a record label that currently counts U2, Dr Dre, Gwen Stefani and Selena Gomez among its artists.
Stoute told TechCrunch: “Look at music like gaming. You monetise the game to all the people who are most engaged. I wanted to bring that theory and thinking to music.”