Goldman Sachs’ recent “Music in the Air” report predicts that direct monetization of music super-fans could result in US$4 billion in incremental revenue for artists globally within the next seven years.
It’s a relatively newer market, the superfan business is—and also a lucrative one.
“Our data shows superfans are spending [eight times] the average music listener which creates a massive opportunity for artists,” confirms Arpan Deol, co-founder and chief executive of Renaissance, a Vancouver-born music-tech startup targeting superfans with an app.
Deol revealed this week that a Singapore-based venture capital firm targeting web3-related technologies quietly led a round of funding for his BC startup over the summer.
Renaissance announced that it secured $1 million in capital this year from Blockchain Funders Fund and others, building on a pre-seed round powered by Panache Ventures in 2021.
“Ultimately, this fresh funding enables us to move faster towards our goal of being the industry standard when it comes to artist-fan relationships globally,” Deol stated.
The flagship product of Renaissance is an app oriented around “superfans” of music, which Deal and his team have been iterating since 2020.
“The Renaissance team has put their deep domain expertise in music distribution to help artists reach the top 1% of their fans,” believes Patrick Lor, who serves as managing partner at Panache Ventures.
“They’re building a product that all artists will use one day to build stronger connections with their audiences,” the investor posited.
Since launching its app in 2021, Renaissance has been downloaded more than a million times, with 150 million songs streamed through the platform per month.
Blockchain Founders Fund partner Tobi Bauer admires how Renaissance is “obsessively focused on providing superfans of artists the best experience possible.”
“Superfans spend more time and money on their favorite artists than anyone, yet are under-served,” Bauer explains.
“Renaissance has created a truly interactive experience fans love and want to keep coming back to,” the investor added, “and it shows in their incredible growth in a short time.”
Renaissance has now raised a total of $2.3M in capital.
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