Pictured [L-R]: Agnes Kacicki, Diego Farias and Christoffer Mård
The financing landscape for independent artists and labels continues to expand.
Primary Wave Music has made a strategic investment in music financing platform RUN, the company announced today (January 28).
RUN, founded by Diego Farias and Christoffer Mård, provides financing to artists, labels, and rightsholders ranging from short-term advances to full catalog acquisitions.
According to a press release, this financing from Primary Wave is RUN’s “single largest” and first institutional investment since launching in 2023.
The financing, Primary Wave noted, allows RUN to target “advance opportunities for both developing and established artists, producers, songwriters and other creators with proven track records” for up to $25 million per transaction.
RUN says it has already deployed “tens of millions of dollars in capital to hundreds of artists across five continents”.
The company has offices in Los Angeles and Stockholm, Sweden.
RUN joins a rapidly expanding landscape of alternative funding options for independent artists, labels, and distributors.
Earlier this month, Pipeline, backed by Matt Spetzler’s investment firm Jamen Capital, emerged from stealth with over $200 million in capital, aiming to become the “largest funder of independent music globally”.
Elsewhere, music financing platform beatBread has deployed over $100 million across 1,700 funding agreements since its founding in 2020.
Last year, beatBreadraised$124 million in fresh funding, including equity capital from Citi, Deciens Capital, Mucker Capital, and Advantage Capital.
Meanwhile, music investment company Duettirecently secured$200 million in fresh financing, led by a $50 million Series C equity investment from Raine Partners.
Christoffer Mård was also previously an exec at Amuse, where he held roles across marketing, growth, and label. He was most-recently Chief Label Officer at the company. He worked at Spotify prior to Amuse.
RUN says its platform leverages “deep historical data and machine learning models to value music rights with precision”.
Co-founder Diego Farias claims that RUN has “created the ultimate funding tool for music rights”.
He added: “Built on a state-of-the-art AI platform, we are able to automatically break down complex statements and deals in the matter of minutes rather than weeks and then turn around financing offers that we are ready to shake hands on.
“The speed with which we operate while sticking to our core principles of fair terms and transparent agreements sets us apart from the traditional opportunities artists and labels have had access to.”
“Our goal is simple: to be THE funding partner in the music industry and, with the access to capital that this deal presents, we are ready to meet any funding needs artists may have.”
Diego Farias
Farias added: “The partnership with Primary Wave, who have invested billions in music’s greatest catalogs over decades, opens endless opportunities through their deep industry expertise.
“Our goal is simple: to be THE funding partner in the music industry and, with the access to capital that this deal presents, we are ready to meet any funding needs artists may have.”
“RUN gives us early exposure to a technology-enabled platform at the intersection of music, data, and rights management, and this investment aligns directly with our focus on innovation and long-term value creation.”
Agnes Kacicki, Primary Wave
Primary Wave said in the press release announcing the investment that the “combination of RUN’s technology and Primary Wave’s decades of music industry relationships and rights expertise, will accelerate RUN’s sourcing, execution, and scale”.
Primary Wave noted that, via the investment in RUN, it gains exposure to “cutting-edge music technology and a data-driven underwriting approach that enhances deal selectivity, improves forecast accuracy, and complements its broader investment and acquisition strategy”.
Agnes Kacicki, Primary Wave’s Head of Corporate Development, said: “RUN gives us early exposure to a technology-enabled platform at the intersection of music, data, and rights management, and this investment aligns directly with our focus on innovation and long-term value creation.”
The investment in RUN arrives just days after Primary Wave, in conjunction with Brazil-headquartered Nas Nuvens Music Group, acquired the catalog of iconic Brazilian composer, singer, and guitarist Gilberto Gil.
