Two months after beatBread secured another USD $124 million in credit and equity capital, the music financing platform has now launched a new fund that will deploy $100 million to labels and distributors seeking alternatives to traditional industry financing.
The Global Independence Fund (GIF) represents an expansion of beatBread’s existing business model, which provides capital to independent music operations.
The company established the fund in partnership with several trade organizations representing independent labels, including AIM, AIM Ireland, WIN and IMPALA.
The financing will allow labels to access capital by borrowing against existing catalog revenue streams, securing advances for artist signings, and obtaining working capital for operational expenses, while “maintain[ing] control of day-to-day decision making”.
Distributors tapping the GIF will also obtain access to OpenPlay, a delivery platform, and other services through membership programs run by the partner trade organizations. beatBread says the launch of GIF builds on its label advance partnership with A2IM in the US in November 2024.
“For too long, independent labels have had to play by rules set by incumbents, where access to capital comes at the cost of control, and the opportunity to sign and support artists is also limited by access to capital.”
Matthew Tilley, beatBread
Commenting on the fund’s launch, Matthew Tilley, beatBread Head of Artist & Industry Development, said: “For too long, independent labels have had to play by rules set by incumbents, where access to capital comes at the cost of control, and the opportunity to sign and support artists is also limited by access to capital, even when those distributors or independent labels may otherwise be in the very best position to develop, market and support a given artist. The Global Independence Fund is one element in the ongoing fight to change that.”
WIN CEO Noemi Planas added: “beatBread has been a long-time supporter of the independent sector. This new funding initiative will not only offer more access to financing options, it will also provide additional benefits to members of leading independent organization friends programs.”
Planas continued: “The Global Independence Fund is designed to give independent labels the leverage they need to build sustainable businesses on their own terms, compete with larger corporations and retain independence. The future of music should be shaped by the diversity, creativity, and resilience of independent labels and artists. Expanding access and choice of funding options helps make that future a reality.”
“This new funding initiative will not only offer more access to financing options, it will also provide additional benefits to members of leading independent organization friends programs.”
Noemi Planas, WIN
beatBread says labels that seek to benefit from GIF will be able to choose their distribution partners, secure additional pools of co-investment capital from within beatBread’s Funding Network, and compare other funding structures and options using beatBread’s Deal Comparison Tool.
The Comparison Tool launched in February aims to give indie artists and labels transparency into the long-term costs and potential earnings of various funding structures. beatBread said labels can use the tool regardless of whether they seek to secure financing through the GIF or not.
Independent labels interested in accessing the fund can apply through beatBread’s website. The company did not disclose how it will allocate the $100 million across applicants or whether it plans to raise additional capital for future deployments.
Founded in 2020, beatBread previously raised $34 million in a seed round in 2022, before closing a $100 million institutional fund later that year.
The company also launched an “exclusive investor network” in 2022 that brought funding from music companies, distributors, and ‘high-net-worth’ individuals into its existing institutional capital pool.
In 2023, the company launched multi-million dollar advances specifically for songwriters, and added publishing administration services through partnerships with Kobalt and AMRA last year.
In February of this year, beatBread said it had paid advances — covering both existing music catalogs and new, unreleased material — to over 1,300 clients across six continents, with funding amounts spanning from $1,000 to over $10 million.
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