Pirate Studios, a Bristol, UK-based music technology company that operates automated self-service 24 hour music studios, secured a strategic investment of $20m.
Talis Capital, the London-based VC family office, made the investment.
The new funding will enable Pirate Studios to continue its rapid expansion across the UK, Germany and the US, where it has been building a community of musicians, DJs, producers and podcasters who need access to professional studios at rates they can afford.
The company, which was created by musicians for musicians everywhere, has also raised money from a syndicate of high-profile investors including:
– Eric Archambeau (Spotify investor and ex partner at Benchmark & Wellington Partners),
– Bart Swanson of Horizons Ventures, and
– partners of Gaw Capital, the $20bn Hong Kong-headquartered creative proptech fund.
Co-founded by David Borrie and Mikey Hammerton, and Matus Maar (executive chairman) from Talis Capital, Pirate has built a platform that offers online booking, 24 hour keycode access, automated recording and live streaming as well as complete IoT control of their studios.
The company is bringing:
– Fully automated studios that can be booked online 24 hours a day
– HD live streaming, audio reactive lighting and on-demand video and sound recording
– Artificial intelligence powered mixing and mastering, to balance audio recorded in their studios
– Online content hosting for bands to store their videoed and recorded musical archive
It also operates a community of more than 40,000 musicians who regularly use its facilities. Pirate supports these artists by:
– Running national talent development programmes (Pirate Prodigy) offering chosen artists major industry support and free studio time
– Weekly livestreams showcasing artists from their community across their social channels
– Gigs, tours and festival stages to provide opportunities for their community to play live
In three years, Pirate has grown to 350 studios in 21 locations – including London, New York and Berlin.
Following the fundraise, Archambeau will join the board of Pirate Studios.
FinSMEs
15/11/2018