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BandPage, a San Francisco-based startup that aims to help musicians monetize by consolidating their online presence, has raised a $9.25 million Series C round to expand partnerships with the industry's dominant music services and expand revenue streams for the 500,000 musicians using it.
The round was led by GGV Capital and Mohr Davidow Ventures including financing from GGV's Hany Nada, who led the firm's 2012 SoundCloud investment, and SoundHound director Larry Marcus. Both serve as directors on BandPage's board, according to an SEC document filed last week.
“We are in the musician business - the business of driving revenue growth and expanding an artist's fan base on behalf of musicians big and small around the world,” said J Sider, founder and CEO of BandPage and Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree. “For the first time in the history of the music business, the industry has the information and technology necessary to reach billions of fans year round at the right time, with the right offer at the right price.”
BandPage powers artist information on Vevo and Google, among others.
Musicians use BandPage to create a profile that includes bios, photos, videos, songs and tour dates, as well as items for sale (tickets, merchandise and VIP experiences). It operates on a freemium model – for $1.99 a month or $19.99 a year, a “plus” membership buys a souped-up version. (Rihanna and Beyoncé are just two of the half a million artists currently using the site.)
Founded in 2010, BandPage has upped the ante in the last year, partnering with ticketing, streaming and lyric services including Live Nation, Clear Channel, Xbox Music, VEVO, Rhapsody,
Though we have yet to see metrics for how much, exactly, this increased visibility earns musicians, with LyricFind alone seeing 5 billion displays a year, these partnerships look promising.
Among its alternate expanding revenue streams: BandPage Experiences, launched in 2013, which allows fans to purchase special events including meet and greets and secret shows to fans. Artists take home 85% while BandPage nets just over 10% after transaction fees. This let musicians earn outside the traditional touring cycle, meaning they can sell special experiences to generate income even when in the studio.
"BandPage is playing a critical role in empowering musicians to further their careers in the digital age," said Brian Message, manager of PJ Harvey and Nick Cave, co-manager of Radiohead and chairman of the Music Managers Forum in a press release. "The future of the music business is the direct musician-to-fan connection and, by working with the music services to build a channel through which musicians can directly reach their fans with content and commercial offers, BandPage is helping musicians capitalize on the tremendous opportunity facing the music business today."
The company had previously raised an seed round and $18.3 million through two 2011 rounds, bringing their total financing to over $28 million.
“We believe that the music industry is on the cusp of dramatic revenue growth as it emerges from a period of massive disruption,” said Hany Nada, partner at Silicon Valley-based GGV Capital in a statement. “There are billions of fans engaged with music online making it the most engaged class of content online - we believe that BandPage is the company best positioned to help musicians take advantage of the revenue opportunity this engagement represents.”
Indeed, the investment looks like an industry vote of confidence in monetizing online and provides a few answers for just how artists can tap into an Internet following spread across so many platforms.
Follow me on Twitter @natrobe.
