Timbaland and Swizz Beats co-founded Verzuz during the peak of the first pandemic. The platform has provided millions of viewers with entertainment from the comfort of their homes. The show, which sparked success after hosting some exciting head-to-head music battles, was acquired by Triller in 2021. The deal included Swizz Beats and Timbaland directing a portion of their equity stake to 43 artists who have made appearances on the platform. The agreement also involved the award-winning producers overseeing Triller’s music strategy. Many speculated the video app acquiring Verzuz would impact
LL Cool J and Michelle Williams have teamed up with tech company Salesforces.org for the Rock the Bells festival, which will take place on August 6, 2022. Based in Queens, New York, the festival will feature live performances from music veterans Lil Kim, Rick Ross, Jadakiss, and more. The program will not only champion legendary voices within hip-hop, but it will also help to raise awareness of the mental health issues and stigmas that continue to plague the music industry. Salesforce.org first announced the initiative during their panel discussion earlier this year. They plan
“Anyone can make music on their PC now,” laments DJ Sumbody of Ayepyep, Ngwana Daddy and Monate Mpolaye fame. “You don’t have to go to the studio. You get a program, you do beats. If they can master it, it’s a track, it’s out there. It’s simple now.” While preceding genres and music movements have taken advantage of the ready availability of software that can be purchased or digitally cracked to mimic a physical studio, amapiano has been the most radical departure from established and entrenched ways of making, marketing,
James Curran, 35, — who some of you may know well as JTM or James the Mormon – started off as a struggling teenager who had been expelled from BYU-Idaho twice. It wasn’t until a reported encounter with a police officer who let him off for driving while drunk and high on marijuana that he finally decided to turn his life around. “He knew that was a turning point for me,” Curran said. “I could either choose to change my life or go to jail and who knows what would
Mdundo, an Africa-focused music streaming service, is banking on more partnerships with telcos across the continent to grow its earnings and user base. The optimism comes after a successful year. Last year, the Kenya-based company signed deals with MTN and Airtel in Nigeria, and Vodacom in Tanzania, which reportedly appeared to be paying off after its user-base almost doubled as it added paying subscribers as a source of revenue, according to media. According to TechCrunch, MTN and Airtel Nigeria have a combined customer base of 124.5 million, while Vodacom Tanzania
UnitedMasters, the “record label in your pocket” for independent artists, has closed a $50M Series C at a $550M valuation to support and empower independent artists. The company is a full-service technology platform for independent artists seeking creative and commercial success while maintaining complete control of their music and financial future. It gives creators access to premium music distribution services, a suite of tools to help directly connect with their fans, and opportunities to connect with the world’s biggest brands through partnerships with the NBA, ESPN, TikTok, Twitch, and more. The startup record label
Cash App has launched Cash App Studios, which allows the mobile payment service to invest in creators’ projects. Creatives include artists, designers, directors, and musicians. In an official statement, Brian Grassadonia, lead at Cash App, said: “We’ve long upheld the importance of artistic expression at Cash App. With the introduction of Cash App Studios, we’ll continue to support the artist’s freedom, both financially and creatively. “In keeping with our guiding principle of economic empowerment, we are excited to support emerging artists who are limitless in their vision with this new program.” Artists
Clubhouse has added a new “music mode” on its app – giving musicians who play live on the social network their own special set of tools to optimize sound quality. The feature will hit iOS first before rolling out to Android. The company said the new feature would allow users to “broadcast with high quality and great stereo sound” — giving listeners a rich listening experience. It added that music mode will also make it possible to hook pro-level audio equipment like mixing boards and mics into Clubhouse. This is
Stage11 has raised a whopping $5.7M to help the likes of Snoop Dogg and Akon – so the moguls can monetize their music using NFTs. The company, founded by Jonathan Belolo, the co-owner of Scorpio Music, develops new landscapes for artists to have a creative outlet to engage with their fans through interactive performances and music worlds. According to PR Newswire, the seed round was led by the European venture capital fund, Otium Capital totaling $5.77 million. “As a gamer and sci-fi nerd, It feels like I’ve been dreaming about
Coinbase and UnitedMasters, a company that distributes music, have signed a deal to allow artists to receive their payments in cryptocurrencies. The Black-owned company, founded by Steve Stoutes, is now one of the first to offer, according to a report by Bloomberg. The partnership’s goal is to “empower independent artists by giving them transparency, equity, and control over their earnings.” Payments are set to be made through Coinbase’s payroll product. UnitedMasters stressed that with this new means of receiving payments, the music artists can now participate in a more equitable
