Tech companies (*ahem* Spotify) have been notorious for pulling cash out of musicians’ gig bags, but Splice is hoping to change that after raising a $57.5m Series C funding round.
Per TechCrunch, the audio sample marketplace and collaboration tool has now paid out $15m to artists since 2013 — double what it did last year.
Splice lets musicians sell their sounds for royalty-free use, and charges users $7.99 per month. The service gives unlimited access to its array of 3m synthesizers, drum hits, vocal effects and other sounds.
Splice’s subscription revenue is gathered and then divvied to musicians based on whose samples receive the most downloads.
Musicians on the site have powered samples for many mainstream musicians, including Eminem, Ariana Grande, and Drake. That said, while it’s tailored for serious musicians, Splice’s suite of tools now has 2.5m users — up from 1.5m a year ago.
Union Square Ventures and True Ventures jumped on the success of Splice’s marketplace, co-leading the round for the company, bringing Splice to $104.5m in total funding.
Splice wouldn’t disclose its valuation, but estimates show the company may be valued around $285m.
If true, that makes Splice one of the top music startups that isn’t selling streaming, tickets, or hardware.