Meet beatBread, the financing platform that has just opened a $100M fund to empower independent artists & labels
Music funding platform beatBread has been making a lot of head-turning headlines this year. In February, for example, the firm raised $34 million in a seed round led by Fintech-focused venture capital firm, Deciens Capital.
Over the summer, beatBread struck what it said was a “seven-figure artist financing deal” with singer-songwriter Elley Duhé – its biggest deal yet.
On November 22nd, it was revealed that beatBread has big plans to accelerate its growth in the artist funding space, and it’s just closed a $100 million institutional fund with asset manager Variant Investments to do so.
Launched in November 2020, the company has made over 500 advances to artists and labels, ranging from $1,000 to as much as $2 million per artist for a limited share of revenues on catalog, and, if the artist chooses, on new unreleased music. These advances are repaid from a share of an artist’s streaming and airplay revenues, over a period of the artist’s choosing.
beatBread’s rapid rise in the artist financing space coincides with the growth of the independent artist sector. This newly-closed $100 million fund, says beatBread, will allow it to offer advances not only to emerging independent acts, but also “to some of the world’s biggest artists”.
The company’s proprietary chordCashAI engine evaluates artists’ streaming and social and other data to generate advance offers. The startup has struck over 20 white-label deals with distribution companies, including UnitedMasters and Symphonic Distribution, to use its ‘chordCashAI’ tech to offer advances to their own artists.
Matthew Tilley leads on industry engagement and relationship development at the firm, having spent his career at a number of major music and entertainment companies including Universal Music Group and EMI Music, working with artists including Katy Perry, Billie Eilish and The Weeknd.
On the industry engagement front, beatBread has been making a fair amount of noise this year. In March, the company launched an Artists Advocacy Council featuring the likes of Mike Caren (Artist Partner Group), Ray Daniels, former A&R at Atlantic and Interscope, and Dave Dederer (label owner and founding member of The Presidents of the United States of America) as founding members.
Just last month, beatBread also launched what it calls an “exclusive investor network” that adds funding from music companies and professionals, distributors and “high net worth individuals” to its existing pool of institutional capital to enable artists to get what it says are even better terms when qualitative factors, like high profile future touring dates, star collaborators or a particularly successful marketing or production partner are joining the next release.
More about the beatBread investor network
With their Investor Network, the beatBread offer will be the LOWEST advance available – and they say if their don’t hit the minimum the artist sets, artists don’t have to take the deal at all. (note: they don’t share the minimum with investors so they may bid even higher).
beatBread gives the artist the opportunity to share all the “sizzle” that may make their next project more valuable than beatBread’s algorithm can give credit for.
How to get started with beatBread.
When artists receive their confirmed offers, eligible artists will be offered the opportunity to “post to the beatBread investor network”.
Schedule a call to be walked through the process.
The artist sets a minimum amount that they will accept with our easy on-screen slider. They don’t share this amount with investors and they will always try to get the best terms possible.
The artist can invite other bidders if they’d like (could include interested distributors, labels or individuals). They can bid on the whole deal or just a portion of it.
The artist signs a contract confirming they will take the deal if we meet their minimum required advance.
beatBread will post the deal to the investor network and be in touch in about a week.
If they haven’t met their minimum advance the artist can take the original beatBread offer or walk away completely.
If the investors have exceeded the minimum the artist can take the full amount OR choose to improve their royalty rate (and may have other options too)
Provide additional information for investors. This could include:
Video and audio links
Upcoming tour dates or other appearances
Details of collaborators, producers or other contributors to upcoming releases
Management, marketing or other “behind the scenes” partners who will add value to your project
Here's a step-by-step guide through the process.
For further information, please contact Matthew Tilley