Over two years after raising $4.2 million in funding, music marketing platform Breakr has attracted another $1.9 million in fresh capital, bringing its total funding to $8.7 million and its valuation to $20 million.
The latest round of financing was led by Slow Ventures, TechCrunch reports. The venture capital firm also led Breakr’s previous round.
Breakr plans to use the latest capital infusion to hire more talent and further develop its product, which brings together music companies, creators and brands to create programmatic marketing campaigns.
Since its 2021 funding round, the California-headquartered company has onboarded more than 30,000 influencers and has paid out $3.5 million to creators, TechCrunch said.
Among its other backers, Breakr counts rap legend Nas, Salesforce co-founder Marc Benioff, Andreessen Horowitz’s Talent x Opportunity Initiative (TxO), former TikTok CEO Kevin Mayer, RGA Ventures, Charles Hudson (Precursor Ventures), Complex founder Rich Antoniello, Lo Toney (Plexo Capital), Anthony Saleh (WndrCo) and Quiet Capital.
Other investors include Baron Davis, Debut Capital, Unknown Ventures, Ozone Partners, CNC Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners (Scout Fund), Rich Riley, Tommy Duncan, Nataly Langer, Dan Teran, Justin Waldron, Scott Depetris, Alex Lopez, Sterling Proffer, Mack Hollins, and Matt Goetz.
“We believe that with underlying audience data, mass liquidity and intelligence capabilities, it should be as easy to come into Breakr and spend $15,000 as it is to set it and forget it on Google.”
Anthony Brown, Breakr
Breakr operates as a three-sided marketplace: creators submit their profiles, artists offer music for campaigns, and brands access a wealth of data and engagement metrics to find the perfect influencers. Breakr also helps vet for brand safety and fake followers.
Speaking to TechCrunch, co-founder Anthony Brown said: “Breakr wants to be the Google Ad Words, powered by creators.”
“We believe that with underlying audience data, mass liquidity and intelligence capabilities, it should be as easy to come into Breakr and spend $15,000 as it is to set it and forget it on Google.”
Artists who have worked with Breakr include Megan Thee Stallion, Future, Rick Ross, Gunna, JID, Sleepy Hallow, Ozzy Osbourne, Black Pink, Young Thug, Kanye West, Brent Faiyaz, Tobe Nwigwe, PinkPantheress, Armani White, Charlieonnafriday and Nas.
Brands who have used Breakr to connect music to brand campaigns include Def Jam, Samsung, Billboard, Rolling Loud, Live Nation, Meta, Tidal, Epic, Kit Kat, P&G, Celsius, Mountain Dew and White Claw, the company says on its website.
“The creator economy, especially in music, is rapidly evolving with a shift towards direct, curated and scalable relationships between digital marketers and creators. Traditional management tools are becoming obsolete, paving the way for more efficient, relationship-focused technologies.”
Anthony Brown and Ameer Brown, Breakr
“This transition to a SaaS model aligns with our goal to streamline and democratize the process of influencer marketing, making it more accessible and efficient for a wider range of users in the music industry and beyond,” co-founder Ameer Brown was quoted by TechCrunch as saying.
Anthony Brown noted the shift towards direct and scalable creator relationships.
“The creator economy, especially in music, is rapidly evolving with a shift towards direct, curated and scalable relationships between digital marketers and creators. Traditional management tools are becoming obsolete, paving the way for more efficient, relationship-focused technologies,” Anthony Brown and Ameer Brown said in a statement on Breakr’s website.
While music marketing is its core business, Breakr is eyeing an eventual expansion into other creative fields like film and television, TechCrunch reported.
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