Superfan monetization platform We Are Giant has announced its official launch and a close to $8 million raise. Photo Credit: Anthony Delanoix
As companies and artists continue to zero in on superfan monetization, We Are Giant, a self-described “purpose-built community platform for the music industry,” has officially launched.
Los Angeles-headquartered We Are Giant emailed Digital Music News today about its formal debut and a multimillion-dollar funding round. On the former front, the “ad-free, safe, and centralized space to foster communities” is available via the web as well as the App Store.
Founded by Andy Apple, previously an investor with Sound Ventures and Wavemaker Partners (which in 2019 backed Musiio, now a subsidiary of SoundCloud), We Are Giant says it offers “licensed listening parties” for new projects, exclusive livestream performances, and “DSP-integrated” chatrooms wherein artists can personally interact with diehard supporters.
Moving forward, the platform intends to add options to sell physical releases, merch, and tickets to livestream events, besides enabling fans to tip artists, according to higher-ups. At present, though, north of 50 acts, among them unsigned, indie-label, and major-label professionals alike, already have We Are Giant “community channels,” per the company.
Additionally, We Are Giant says it’s hosted more than “150 fan-led community events,” including for Euphoria actor Dominic Fike, Stick Season creator Noah Kahan, Bewitched artist Laufey, and others.
Shifting to the aforementioned funding side, We Are Giant disclosed that Chicago’s Sterling Partners had “allocated nearly $8 million in investment.”
Outlining his ambitious vision for We Are Giant, Sterling co-founder Steven Taslitz noted the “strong leadership team” behind the fan-relationship platform. Besides Andy Apple, the business counts as execs RedditGifts founder Dan McComas (VP of product), former Nura artist-relations head JP Slater (VP of music), Imzy co-founder Josh Fraser (VP of engineering), and Moment vet Tony Hartman (head of artist success).
And in comments of his own, Apple drove home We Are Giant’s broader objective of making it easier for fans to connect with artists and helping the latter to earn a living.
“Artists and IP owners have been underserved from a creator tools perspective for too long, all without truly owning their fan relationships,” Apple said in part. “Additionally, the majority of working musicians aren’t able to make a reasonable living and have been using outdated, fragmented, and misaligned promotional tools with little return.
“At We Are Giant, our goal is to change this broken system. Our platform helps artists to maximize their careers, build more viable ways to make a living, drive longevity, and optimize their most important fan relationships by creating sustainable and lucrative communities,” he continued.
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