In June 2020, Tracklib raised $ 4.5 million from investors, including Sony (through its Innovation Fund) and Spinnin 'Records co-founder Eelko van Kooten. Now, the Swedish music sampling startup has secured another $ 12.2 million in funding.
Tracklib recently announced its latest investment, which was led by the Sony Innovation Fund. Other existing investors also contributed to the $ 12.2 million tranche, as did new investors like retired NBA player (and current NBA analyst at TNT) Baron Davis and several European-based family offices.
It should be noted that the Sony Innovation Fund also has interests in the smart media distribution platform MainStreaming and the music creation service LANDR, among all types of companies outside the music space.
Addressing the completion of the funding round in a statement, Tracklib Co-Founder and CEO Pär Almqvist said:
“We are delighted to see interest from investors, existing and new, in supporting Tracklib's vision of unleashing creativity, creating a better way to sample for millions of music creators.
"Original music samples are an integral part of how artists and producers make music, regardless of genre, and we have been pioneers in connecting these creators with important music catalogs in an easy, legal and affordable way."
Baron Davis, who endorsed the Bitcoin Lolli rewards company earlier this year and has expressed interest in establishing a non-fungible token (NFT) market, added:
“An incredible tool for creators. It's great for me as a creator and DJ. It gave me the confidence to work on my own projects and release some of my music. I can listen to samples, see what other people have posted and vibrate on Tracklib. "
Allegedly unauthorized samplers have fueled a number of music industry lawsuits in recent years, including legal confrontations involving Kanye West, Nicki Minaj and Tracy Chapman, Jay-Z, Beyonce and Drake. Interestingly, an appeals court in the latest ruling ruled that Drake's use of "Jimmy Smith Rap" in "Pound Cake / Paris Morton Music 2" (without prior consent) constituted fair use.
In another vein, Katy Perry, The Chainsmokers, and Nas are among the artists who recently joined a $ 5 million round for blockchain-based music streaming platform Audius, while The Weeknd in July participated in a $ 2 million seed funding round for the personalized music service Songfinch.
Hong Kong-based digital music company Allsaints Music Group raised $ 60 million about a month ago, following a $ 50 million Series D from music licensing and distribution platform Songtradr and an increase of $ 63 million. dollars from music startup-NFT OneOf.