Nas joins $4.2m funding round for social music marketing startup Breakr – Music Business Worldwide

Music marketing platform Breakr has raised $4.2 million in seed funding, led by Slow Ventures.

Breakr is described in an explainer video (see below) as a marketplace where musicians and influencers can connect. Artists can sign up to get their music promoted by influencers and once transactions between artists and influencers are verified by the platform, influencers are paid.

Amongst the funding round’s participants are rap legend Nas, Marc Benioff’s TIME Ventures, RGA Ventures/Coalition, Baron Davis, Quiet Capital, Precursor Ventures, WNDRCO, Plexo Capital, Debut Capital, Unknown Ventures, Ozone Partners, CNC Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners (Scout Fund), Kevin Mayer.

Other investors include Rich Riley, Tommy Duncan, Rich Antoniello, Nataly Langer, Dan Teran, Justin Waldron, Scott Depetris, Alex Lopez, Sterling Proffer, Mack Hollins, Matt Goetz, and re-commitments from several of the company’s existing loyal angel and pre-seed investors.

Founded in late 2020, the startup says that its platform has leveraged over 50,000 creators across 133 countries with an aggregate reach of more than 1bn followers.

Breakr also reports to have generated 150m views for emerging artists and claims to have “put hundreds of thousands of dollars into the pockets of creators at a time where it’s needed more than ever”.

With this funding, Breakr says that it will staff out its product, engineering, and business development teams “to set itself up for its increasing demand”.

Breakr was in the alpha cohort of Andreessen Horowitz’s Talent x Opportunity Initiative led by a16z partner Nait Jones.

The Initiative is an accelerator program that provides funding, mentorship, resources, and community to underrepresented founders.

Breakr was one of the seven companies accepted out of more than 1,200 applicants.

“We loved the company before we knew the connection but that coincidence really made doing this deal even more special.”

Nas, speaking to TechCrunch.

Speaking to TechCrunch, Nas said: “We loved the company before we knew the connection but that coincidence really made doing this deal even more special.”

“TikTok influencers have been pushing songs to the top of the charts, and with the shift to Twitch and Instagram Live DJ sets during the pandemic, we knew the world needed a solution.”

Tony Brown, Breakr

“Independent artists have more opportunities than ever to break through, but those opportunities have required busywork that should’ve been solved already,” said Tony Brown, Breakr’s co-founder and CEO.

“Problem 1? Spending all day messaging to try and get your song heard. TikTok influencers have been pushing songs to the top of the charts, and with the shift to Twitch and Instagram Live DJ sets during the pandemic, we knew the world needed a solution.”

“We jumped at the chance to lead the round and are very excited about the role Breakr can play in the music industry and beyond.”

Will Quist, Slow Ventures

Will Quist, Slow Ventures added: “Creators are increasingly at the forefront of brand and content discovery for consumers.

“Building tools to help creators manage and monetize is one of the most exciting opportunities in media today.

“Breakr is in a great position to build tools and services that not only add value to creators’ lives, but also anyone looking for distribution.

“We jumped at the chance to lead the round and are very excited about the role Breakr can play in the music industry and beyond.”

“When we designed Breakr, we focused on first addressing one of the biggest pain points for artists, influencers, and anyone trying to promote a song: outreach and execution for social placements.”

Ameer Brown, Breakr 

“When we designed Breakr, we focused on first addressing one of the biggest pain points for artists, influencers, and anyone trying to promote a song: outreach and execution for social placements,” said Ameer Brown, Breakr co-founder and CTO/Inventor.

“Discovery was broken, payments were unsecured at best and scammy at worst, and there was no transparency in communication or validation of the promotion taking place. This process needed to be streamlined, so we stepped in to make it happen. And by diving into the issue, we’ve identified so many additional opportunities to unlock value for the creative industries, by creatively removing friction.”

“I immediately knew it would be the future.”

Tobe Nwigwe, Breakr 

Tobe Nwigwe, independent artist and Breakr co-founder, added: “I immediately knew it would be the future. Having cultural icons like Erykah Badu and Dave Chapelle rock with my music and amplify me on their platforms was major for me.

“Now, with Breakr, we can make this happen for artists and influencers at every level.”

“They’ve created what I call a mall of influential marketers, where all you have to do is shop what talent fits the taste of your campaign needs.”

Marc Byers

Marc Byers, former GM of Motown Records and Strategic Advisor at AMP Technologies, said: “Breakr is a needed tool to efficiently connect artists, influencers and brands.

“I know from 1st hand experience that this process manually is too time consuming to not only find an array of diverse influencers but activate them as well.

“They’ve created what I call a mall of influential marketers, where all you have to do is shop what talent fits the taste of your campaign needs.”Music Business Worldwide