Music collectibles platform Wax Poetics has closed a $1 million funding round to fuel the next phase of its growth.
Investors include music executives such as Kickstarter founder Perry Chen, as well as WhoSampled founder and CEO Nadav Poraz, and Mixcloud co-founder Nikhil Shah, who is also Chairman of Wax Poetics.
The fundraise will be used to develop the platform’s tech, as well as “make key marketing and curation hires, and accelerate expansion into new genres and markets”.
Founded as a music magazine in Brooklyn in 2001, Wax Poetics has reinvented itself as a platform that “combines editorial with a marketplace for music collectibles”, enabling artists, producers and creators to directly auction items to “communities of deep fans and collectors”.
“This funding allows us to formalise what we’ve long known: music collecting is a huge opportunity and an often overlooked or undervalued market.”
Alex Bruh, Wax Poetics
“Wax Poetics has long been an important authority for music’s most knowledgeable fans,” said Alex Bruh, CEO of Wax Poetics. “With the new model we are able to open up a much bigger, high scale opportunity around music collectibles, while staying true to our storytelling roots.
“This funding allows us to formalise what we’ve long known: music collecting is a huge opportunity and an often overlooked or undervalued market. We’re building the platform that finally does justice to the space.”
Since its relaunch, Wax Poetics says it has sold the highest-value demo cassette ever by a female artist: Mariah Carey ($54,050), and has also closed auctions with artists including Bootsy Collins, Louie Vega, and Arthur Baker.
It recently announced its latest collection, which includes one of the earliest known cassette recordings of Tupac.
“The direct to fan business is about community, trust and curation,” added Kickstarter’s Chen. “That’s something Wax Poetics has in spades. It’s a rare combination that gives the platform real credibility with both artists and fans.”
As part of the new phase, the executive team was strengthened with the appointment of music producer Arthur Baker as the platform’s first Artist Advisor in 2025, with Shah installed as Chairman the previous year.
Louie Vega added: “A lot of my fans have followed me for years and already feel part of my journey. To be able to connect with them through a piece of my history, and deliver it alongside a personal story attached to it, is truly special. I’ve had great reactions from my fans and collectors.”Music Business Worldwide