medallion is a platform for artists to have a dedicated digital hub to promote album releases, tour dates and merch drops, as well as sell digital collectibles and share exclusive content to connect deeper with fans. You can also foster connections. The company announced today that it has closed $13.7 million in Series A funding, co-led by Dragonfly and Lightspeed Faction.
Musicians are increasingly seeking direct ownership in their communities and avoiding third-party platforms that can complicate managing interactions with fans. From a fan perspective, there are many ways to follow and connect with artists, but with minimal online interaction.
Matt Jones, co-founder and CEO of Medallion, said: “Streaming has opened up access to music and social media, creating new channels for direct distribution, but artists and fans “The full potential of direct connections has not been exploited.” “Medallion’s artist-centric approach and focus on digitally native fan experiences are helping usher in a new era of transformation for artists.”
Medallion hopes to use this significant funding to address what many artists consider to be a major gap in the music industry: the lack of control and lack of direct connection when it comes to online relationships with fans. I am. The company plans to use this new capital to introduce new early access opportunities such as listening to previously released music and offering advance tickets, among other member benefits such as “video premieres and new updates.” He explained. Artists will soon be able to sell new exclusive and limited edition digital collectibles/NFTs such as poster bundles and trading cards.
Medallion recently introduced a new earning opportunity for artists in the UK, Australia and Germany: ‘Digital Deluxe’. This allows artists to sell digital versions of their music albums with built-in music players and downloadable audio, images, and videos. Artists can also sell physical items through an integration with Shopify.
Medallions are free for artists to use, but will account for a portion of all sales on the platform, an amount that was not disclosed. It is built on blockchain and allows users to sign in using email or their wallet provider (Rainbow, Coinbase, WalletConnect).
Additionally, Medallion is a white-label platform, meaning artists can customize their digital spaces with their own color themes, backgrounds, and more. When fans set up an account, they claim something like a unique digital collectible or membership card called a “medallion” that grants free access to the community. For example, Greta Van Fleet’s symbol is her spinning 3D gold ring.
Artists communicate with fans through social media posts, and fans can respond with comments. Some artists may also request that the community submit concert footage, photos, etc. to share with the community and further encourage fan engagement.
There are currently 20 artists using Medallion to power their fan communities. jungle, Greta Van Fleet, Illenium, disclosure, Tiga, mount joy, Tycho, my morning jacket, girl in red clothesand Sigur Ros,especially
“We have partnered very closely with a small number of select artists over the past year to help us test and refine core product features. This platform is not yet open to all artists. However, we continue to invest in technology and platforms that will ultimately allow us to expand across the industry. At the moment, we are primarily focused on being among the top 10,000 artists on streaming platforms and being highly engaged. I work with independent-minded artists who have huge fan bases,” Jones said.
The company plans to expand the platform’s availability to hundreds more artists in 2024, but it won’t be widely available until 2025 or later.
The medallions are presented by Jones, Mark McIntyre (CTO), Josephine Yu (CPO), Jesse Belin (VP of Operations), Adam Ray (CFO and General Counsel), Ash Pampati (VP of GTM), Co-founded by Tom Milway (Vice President). Design) are all technology, e-commerce, and music industry veterans with experience at Songkick, Instagram, YouTube, Spotify, Grailed, Warner Music Group, and Live Nation.
Other investors in the round include Coinbase Ventures, Infinite Capital, J17, The Chernin Group, Third Prime, and Zeal Capital, as well as music industry investors Bill Silva Entertainment, Black Squirrel, Foundations Artist Management, Method; Includes TAG Music. Medallion also has support from top artists such as Jungle, Mount Joy, Guy Lawrence (Disclosure), and Tiga.
The company has raised $22 million to date.
“Artists are beginning to understand that they are brands, not just content creators, and as a result, they are building multimodal businesses that go beyond just music and content,” said Dragonfly General Manager Partner Rob Haddick said in a statement.
Source: techcrunch.com
