Amuse (music company)

Amuse is a digital music distribution service as well as independent record label founded 2015 in Stockholm, Sweden by entrepreneurs Diego Farias, Andreas Ahlenius, Christian Wilsson, Guy Parry and Jimmy Brodd. The company offers free digital music distribution and license deals to artists and independent labels, who retain 100% of their music ownership rights. Amuse is based in Stockholm, Sweden.

Amuse
TypeMusic company
IndustryMusic Industry
FoundedSweden
FounderDiego Farias, Andreas Ahlenius, Christian Wilsson, Jimmy Brodd and Guy Parry.
Headquarters
Stockholm
,
Stockholm
Area served
Worldwide
Websitehttps://www.amuse.io

History

Amuse was founded in 2015 by Diego Farias, Andreas Ahlenius, Christian Wilsson, Guy Parry and Jimmy Brodd. The Amuse iOS and Android application was released in March 2017. In June 2017, American rapper, singer, songwriter, DJ, record producer, voice actor and philanthropist will.i.am joined the company's list of co-founders.[1] Later on in May 2018 Amuse raised $15,5M USD in series A funding round led by Venture capital firms Lakestar and Raine Ventures. In April 2019 the company launched Fast Forward - a tech service for music distribution users as well as a web application.[2] In the end of 2018, Lil Nas X uploaded his song Old Town Road through Amuse. According to Diego Farias, CEO, he had previously uploaded several tracks which had not gained much attention. However, in the beginning of 2019 the company could see, through their algorithms, that Old Town Road was doing extremely well and so they offered the artist a deal. Lil Nas X later on chose to sign a deal with Columbia Records.[3] The song Old Town Road, featuring Billy Ray Cyrus, ended up becoming one of the most prized songs in the history of Billboard Hot 100, as it spent record-breaking 19 weeks at No.1.

Operations

Amuse have two main operations - digital music distribution and licensing of music. They provide musicians and other rights-holders with the opportunity to distribute, sell and stream their music through digital music stores.[4]

The data-driven royalty advance service Fast Forward that was officially launched in April 2019, utilizes machine learning to calculate and offer users up to six months of their upcoming royalties through the Amuse smartphone application.[5] The company's also operating in music licensing - from its distribution service, the company has access to the consumption data of how their users' music is being streamed and purchased, as well as the demographics of each artists' audience. Amuse leverages this data to identify emerging talent and offer selected artists licensing deals.[6]

Financials

Amuseio is based in Sweden and is required to release their financials. In 2019 they made $10.9m USD loss.[7]

References
  1. "Will.i.am Joins 'Mobile Record Label' Startup Amuse, Talks 'Defining a New Type of Record Industry'". Billboard.
  2. "Amuse to pay AI-driven royalty advance money to independent artists". Music Business Worldwide. February 5, 2019.
  3. "Lil Nas X rejected a $1 million-plus deal with Amuse before signing to Columbia Records". Music Business Worldwide. June 4, 2019.
  4. McIntyre, Hugh. "This Swedish Startup Will Distribute Your Album For Free". Forbes.
  5. Wang, Amy X. (February 5, 2019). "A Music Startup Is Paying Artists For Their Future Royalties".
  6. "Ha ditt skivbolag i fickan. Amuse är ett skivbolag i mobilen". Feber / Mobil.
  7. "Amuseio AB i Stockholm (559036-7016) - Merinfo.se". www.merinfo.se. Retrieved 2020-09-23.
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