Creative platform EVEN raises $2.2 million in startup round to help artists sell directly to fans

inventive hub EQUALIt mentioned it closed a $2.2 million startup spherical led by CSA Companions, which permits artists to promote music on to their followers.

The platform is positioned as the primary cease for artists to launch music on their streaming platform. In return, followers get entry to unique content material and experiences. The corporate’s CEO and founder, Magazine Rodriguez, says he began constructing the platform final February to assist black and brown artists keep equality of their inventive work.

Rodriguez mentioned EVEN goals to deal with different woes that artists have right now, reminiscent of being compensated or correctly credited, by permitting them to simply join with their fan base, permitting followers to help artists and keep away from paying charges to vendor platforms.

One of many largest issues is that Black and brown artists are sometimes not given due credit score. as a source for a lot of mainstream traits. The scenario is worse for artists, a few of whom take care of streaming platforms. accused failing to compensate any of their artists pretty.

It is develop into this for the followers increasingly costly to help their favourite artists. For instance, live performance tickets go to distributors who then increase the value, or offers go solely to devoted bank card members moderately than somebody from the artist’s core fan base. All this leaves out Black, brown and different followers from marginalized communities who usually cannot afford resale tickets or qualify for costly, unique offers.

“Among the largest artists on the planet are Black and brown, however the firms that serve them aren’t run by individuals like them, so there is a large downside with artists not being paid sufficient or being paid day by day,” added Rodriguez.

Rodriguez says the enterprise plans to make use of the startup cash to rent and develop the enterprise. Presently in beta, the platform is at the moment free and ad-free and generates income by charging transaction charges. EVEN is constructed on the blockchain to supply higher transparency relating to such transactions.

The corporate plans to accomplice with artists like French Montana and experiment with merchandise just like the chat characteristic to maintain artists and followers in contact. EVEN hopes to launch with greater than 600 artists later this 12 months; Rodriguez mentioned the ready record for many who need to be part of the platform at the moment exceeds 4,000.

A ten-year music business veteran, Rodriguez was launched to the tech world in 2018 after serving to create an arts program for gener8tor, a Madison, Wisconsin-based startup accelerator. As this program grew to become extra standard, it was launched to buyers. got interested within the accelerator and later launched him to others who helped him increase seed funding.

Now a part of an elite membership: lower than 5% of all enterprise capital funds go to Latino founders in any given 12 months. Fund managers are additionally sadly underrepresented (much less 5% of VCs are Latino) Rodriguez mentioned he made certain to incorporate a wide range of fund managers in creating the capping desk, reminiscent of Raquel Filmanowicz, who identifies as Latino and is the founder and managing accomplice of VC 414.

Talking to TechCrunch, Filmanowicz mentioned Rodriguez’s “inventive and modern method to fixing a vexing downside within the music business” made him “precisely the type of entrepreneur VC 414 has sought previously.” “We have been impressed by EVEN’s early curiosity and are extraordinarily proud to be one in all EVEN Labs’ early buyers.”

Different buyers within the spherical embody gANGELS, gener8tor, and angel buyers Daniel Rotman, Adie Akuffo-Afful, and Ogo.