New York, NY (Top40 Charts) StarMaker, the leading digital-first music talent platform, today announced that Raine Ventures led a $6.5 million Series B financing round for the company. Crosscut Ventures, Three Bridges Ventures, Qualcomm Ventures, iGlobe Partners, GREE International, as well as Allen DeBevoise of Machinima and Joe Perez of Tastemade also participated. With the new round of funding, StarMaker will focus on expanding its global platform to discover and elevate talent as well as launching its programming initiatives.
The round of funding comes as the company continues to build upon its more than 30 million users on its owned and operated music video creation and consumption mobile app StarMaker, and through partnership apps with global hit television series including "American Idol" and "The Voice," including the recent hosting of mobile auditions for "
The Voice" on NBC. StarMaker's strategic alignment with the music industry stands alone in providing the rights and tools to create, publish and monetize music videos on YouTube, Instagram, Vine and Facebook, and places StarMaker talent in top tier music videos, on stage and in the A&R offices of major record labels.
"What attracted us to StarMaker is the transformative power of the platform to discover and develop new artists and the subsequent ability to plug them into opportunities across multiple distribution platforms," said
Gordon Rubenstein, Managing Partner of Raine Ventures. "StarMaker's combination of technology, rights, content, and partnerships make them the new heavyweight in music video, alongside other category killers in the Raine portfolio including Vice and Tastemade."
Jeff Daniel, CEO and co-founder of StarMaker Interactive, continued, "We're thrilled to be joined by these respected media and entertainment partners who recognize the leading role StarMaker is playing within the changing music industry. The new round of funding will allow StarMaker to expand its next-generation music programming, while continuing to roll out groundbreaking digital tools to power today's stars and to launch those of tomorrow."
"StarMaker's technology continues to break boundaries for artists at all levels," said Nathan Sedlander, President and co-founder of StarMaker Interactive. "The StarMaker platform is driving a transformative new reality for creation and consumption of music content which will alter how we discover and connect with music's new idols."
StarMaker launched its talent network last fall, and now operates the world's largest music talent network, profoundly delimiting stardom for anyone with talent, drive, and a StarMaker channel. In combination with its label, publisher, and television talent franchise partnerships, StarMaker artists are going pro, building viable fanbases and earning revenue from their music video content.
Examples of how the StarMaker platform has been used include:
About StarMaker Interactive
StarMaker is the music talent platform for the digital age, and provides the technology that drives the next generation of talent and content. A vertically integrated rights-based digital music network, StarMaker fosters music content creation, curation and consumption plus talent discovery and promotion across multiple platforms. With licensing deals with all of the major music publishers, StarMaker works closely with labels including Atlantic, Columbia, Island Def Jam, Hollywood and RCA. The company has also partnered with "The Voice," "American Idol," Universal
Pictures and Philips Electronics, among others to provide fans and talent with the most engaging music experiences. The company is headquartered in San Francisco with offices in Los Angeles. For more information, visit www.starmakerstudios.com.
About Raine Ventures
The Raine Group is a global merchant bank focused exclusively on technology, media, and telecommunications. Raine has in excess of $1.5 billion in assets under management. The firm has offices in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, London, and Shanghai. With a global reach, Raine focuses on investment and advisory opportunities where its deep industry experience and unique network of strategic relationships can create value for portfolio companies and clients. Launched in 2013 as part of The Raine Group, Raine Ventures is a global venture capital platform focused on creating, building, and investing in the next generation of digital media properties. For more information, visit www.raine.com.
