(Hypebot) – We Are Giant has launched a platform with $8 million in funding led by Sterling Partners designed to foster artist and fan communities and enable collaboration, discovery, and monetization.
During beta, 50 artists – from primary and indie label acts to D.I.Y. artists – built community channels on We Are Giant and hosted 150 fan-led community events.
Events, including monetizable live streams and listening parties, could set We Are Giant apart from its many ‘fan community’ competitors, as are Cenre Collectives, the first of which The B-Side for alternative music is already up and running.
Also, setting the startup apart is the experience of its leaders. Andy Apple, Founder and CEO, previously served as an investor at VC firms Sound Ventures and Wavemaker Partners in addition to his tenure at JPMorgan. Dan McComac, the VP of Product & Community, was the SVP of product at Reddit.
Of course, another major differentiator is $8 million in initial funding.
We Are Giant features at launch
• Create new monetization opportunities for artists through licensing: We Are Giant will help license pre-released and commercially available music for listening parties and provide performance licenses for live streaming on the platform. Obtaining music licenses directly allows all streams generated on We Are Giant to get reported to SoundExchange and the PROs.
• Generate revenue using a suite of free tools: We Are Giant wants to break free from the model of scattered promotional tools spread across social media channels, streaming platforms, and websites with a centralized suite of free tools to monetize their work. Artists across all levels and genres will soon have the opportunity to sell physical products like vinyl and merch, ticketed livestreams, accept tipping while performing on the platform, and more.
• Cultivate fan-to-fan connections: We Are Giant’s “Chat” feature allows for like-minded fan-to-fan engagement and a forum for new music discovery. The platform also utilizes DSP-integrated private chat rooms to listen to music with fellow fans in the artist community channels.
• Develop the fan-to-artist ecosystem: For fans, the platform delivers an ad-free listening experience with features that facilitate interaction between fans and artists, bespoke superfan events, personalized playlists, and exclusive content drops. Community managers will support and monitor channels and prevent toxic behavior.
“Artists and IP owners have been underserved from a creator tools perspective for too long, all without truly owning their fan relationships. Additionally, the majority of working musicians aren’t able to make a reasonable living and have been using outdated, fragmented, and misaligned promotional tools with little return,” said Andy Apple, We Are Giant CEO. “At We Are Giant, our goal is to change this broken system. Our platform helps artists to maximize their careers, build more viable ways to make a living, drive longevity, and optimize their most important fan relationships by creating sustainable and lucrative communities.”
Bruce Houghton is the Founder and Editor of Hypebot, a Senior Advisor at Bandsintown, President of the Skyline Artists Agency, and a Berklee College Of Music professor.
