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- UnitedMasters
UnitedMasters Valuation, Funding & Investors
UnitedMasters is valued at $550M as of October 2021.
About UnitedMasters
UnitedMasters is a Brooklyn-based digital music distribution platform empowering independent artists with global streaming access. It distributes tracks to Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, TikTok, and 30+ DSPs while artists retain 100% ownership and receive 90% of royalties. Services include chart marketing, playlist pitching, brand sync licensing, and fan monetization tools like NFTs. The platform serves over 1 million artists including Chance the Rapper and Migos, with catalog exceeding 4 million songs. Launched in 2017, UnitedMasters expanded into publishing and video distribution.
Founded
2017
HQ
Website
Status
Privately held
Customer focus
B2C
Revenue model
Services
Valuation
$550M (Oct 2021)
Sectors
UnitedMasters Valuation
UnitedMasters is currently valued at $550M, based on its Series C in October 2021.
The $50M round was led by Andreessen Horowitz.
UnitedMasters' valuation has grown 1.6x from $350M at its Series B in March 2021 to $550M in October 2021, across 2 priced rounds.
UnitedMasters valuation by funding round
| Date | Stage | Valuation |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 2021 | Series C | $550M |
| Mar 2021 | Series B | $350M |
UnitedMasters Funding History
UnitedMasters has raised a total of $170M across 3 funding rounds.
UnitedMasters' first fundraising round was a $70M Series A in November 2017. The most recent completed round was a $50M Series C in October 2021.
UnitedMasters funding rounds
| Date | Stage | Investors | Raised | Valuation | Deal Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 2021 | Series C | Andreessen Horowitz (lead) | $50M | $550M | UnitedMasters is a technology platform for independent artists founded in 2017 by Steve Stoute that provides music distribution services, analytics, royalties tools, and brand partnership opportunities. The company operates as a major-label alternative, allowing artists to maintain full ownership of their music while accessing premium distribution, direct fan engagement tools, and connections with major brands including the NBA, ESPN, TikTok, Twitch, and Dolby. In October 2021, UnitedMasters closed a $50 million Series C funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz at a post-money valuation of $550 million. This was the company's second $50 million raise in 2021, following a Series B led by Apple in March 2021 that also included Alphabet and Andreessen Horowitz. The October 2021 investment brought the total capital raised to approximately $170 million across three rounds, including Alphabet's $70 million Series A in 2017. At the time of the Series C round, UnitedMasters had grown to 1.3 million artist partners on its platform and had established key partnerships with cryptocurrency platform Coinbase for crypto payouts and with TikTok for in-app music integration. The company planned to deploy the new capital toward international expansion, particularly in Latin America, technology development for frictionless artist-brand partnerships, and strategic acquisitions to advance its mission of empowering independent creators in the creator economy. |
| Mar 2021 | Series B | Apple (lead); Andreessen Horowitz; Alphabet | $50M | $350M | UnitedMasters is an independent music distribution platform and tool provider that enables artists to distribute music, retain ownership, access analytics, royalties tools, and form partnerships with brands like NBA, ESPN, TikTok, and Twitch. Founded in 2017 by Steve Stoute, the company previously raised $70 million led by Alphabet in 2017. On March 31, 2021, UnitedMasters announced a $50 million Series B round led by Apple, with participation from existing investors Alphabet and Andreessen Horowitz. The investment accompanies a strategic partnership with Apple to create new opportunities for UnitedMasters' artists, who numbered around 1 million at the time. Funds are intended to hire global talent and expand the platform internationally. Apple's Eddy Cue highlighted UnitedMasters' role in empowering independent creators, aligning with Apple's commitment to the music industry's growth driven by such artists. Andreessen Horowitz's Ben Horowitz praised the platform's transformation of artist economics, aiming for a more profitable ecosystem. CEO Steve Stoute emphasized shifting power back to artists, using technology to enhance earnings beyond legacy models through distribution from mobile devices and new revenue streams like advertising. A subsequent $50 million Series C round in late 2021, led by Andreessen Horowitz, valued the company at $550 million and supported further technology development for artist-platform deals, lossless audio on Apple Music, financial tools, TikTok integration, and crypto partnerships. By then, UnitedMasters had grown to 1.3 million users. |
| Nov 2017 | Series A | Alphabet (lead); 20th Century Studios; Andreessen Horowitz | $70M | - | UnitedMasters, founded by music industry veteran Steve Stoute, launched in 2017 as a platform empowering independent artists by providing music distribution to major streaming services while allowing them to retain ownership of their masters. The company emerged from stealth with a $70 million Series A funding round on November 15, 2017, led by Alphabet (Google's parent company), with participation from Andreessen Horowitz, 20th Century Fox (noted as 21st Century Fox or Twentieth Century Fox in some reports), Floodgate, and others. This investment was personally championed by Alphabet co-founder Larry Page, who was motivated by the need for better tools to help artists track fans and monetize directly, addressing gaps in traditional label systems and services like Kobalt. The funding aimed to build a comprehensive suite of tools for independent artists, including distribution, marketing, fan engagement, and economic optimization, positioning UnitedMasters as a 'record label in your pocket' accessible via mobile devices. At launch, the company had a team of around 40 with expertise from Facebook, Dropbox, YouTube, SoundCloud, Pandora, and Instagram, and was already working with about 1,000 emerging acts focused on digital-native operations. The goal was to scale independence, creating opportunities for many artists like Chance the Rapper to succeed without ceding rights. Subsequent developments included a $50 million Series B in 2021 led by Apple, with reinvestments from Alphabet and Andreessen Horowitz, by which time UnitedMasters had over one million artists on the platform, including notable names like NLE Choppa and Lil Tecca, and introduced subscription tiers like Select for full royalty retention. |
Who has invested in UnitedMasters?
4 investors have backed UnitedMasters across its funding rounds, including Andreessen Horowitz, Alphabet, Apple and 20th Century Studios.
Lead investors include Andreessen Horowitz, Apple and Alphabet.
UnitedMasters Investors
| Investor | HQ | Rounds | Role | First check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Lead | Nov 2017 | ||
| 2 | Lead | Nov 2017 | ||
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all 4 UnitedMasters investors. Start Free Trial | ||||
Benchmark 350K+ Funding Rounds and Disclosed VC Valuation Multiples
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Start Free TrialInvestments by UnitedMasters
UnitedMasters has invested in 1 company to date.
Latest investment by UnitedMasters was on April 10th 2024. UnitedMasters invested in Udio in their $10M Seed round.
Latest Investments by UnitedMasters
| Description | Udio is a New York-headquartered AI platform for music generation and production. Users input text prompts to create full songs with vocals, instruments, and lyrics in genres from pop to hip-hop. Launched publicly in April 2024, it supports stem separation, remixing, and commercial licensing, attracting collaborations with artists and labels worldwide. |
| HQ Country | |
| HQ City | New York City, NY |
| Deal Date | 10 Apr 2024 |
| Round | Seed |
| Raised | $10M |
| Investors | Tay Keith; Will·I. Am; Andreessen Horowitz; Oriol Vinyals; Mike Krieger; PTK Capital; Lonnie Rashid Lynn |
| Valuation | undisclosed |
| EV/Revenue | |
| EV/EBITDA | |
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all UnitedMasters investments and their VC round multiples. Start Free Trial | |
UnitedMasters Competitors
UnitedMasters competitors include listed companies like YG Entertainment, Avex, Tips Music and JYP Entertainment, and private ones like Songtradr and BandLab.
| Company | HQ | Status | Revenue | EBITDA | Valuation | Revenue Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Private | $24M | - | $530M | - | ||
| Publicly listed | $397M | $73M | $595M | 1.2x | ||
| Private | - | - | $425M | - | ||
| Publicly listed | $942M | $40M | $351M | 0.2x | ||
| Publicly listed | $39M | $30M | $872M | 19.3x | ||
| Publicly listed | $598M | $175M | $931M | 1.1x |
UnitedMasters Public Comps
UnitedMasters is still privately-owned, but its public comps include NRJ Group, CJ ENM, YG Entertainment, TV Tokyo Holdings, AMC Global Media, MD Entertainment, Zhejiang Talent TV & Film, Reservoir Media, GREE Holdings and Acast.
| Last FY | EV/Revenue | EV/EBITDA | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | EBITDA | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | |
| $390M | $74M | 0.3x | 0.3x | 1.6x | 1.7x | |||
| $3.7B | $1.1B | 0.6x | 0.7x | 2.2x | 2.6x | |||
| $397M | $73M | 1.3x | 1.2x | 7.1x | 7.4x | |||
| $1.1B | $104M | 0.3x | 0.3x | 3.2x | 3.4x | |||
| $2.3B | $1.2B | 0.8x | 0.8x | 1.5x | 4.4x | |||
| $28M | ($4M) | 17.7x | - | (138.5x) | - | |||
| $17M | ($52M) | 29.2x | - | (9.5x) | - | |||
| $176M | $68M | 6.1x | 5.9x | 15.7x | 14.2x | |||
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all UnitedMasters competitors and their valuation data. Start Free Trial | ||||||||
Common questions about UnitedMasters
| When was UnitedMasters founded? | UnitedMasters was founded in 2017. |
| Where is UnitedMasters headquartered? | UnitedMasters is headquartered in New York City, NY, United States. |
| Is UnitedMasters publicly listed? | No, UnitedMasters is a private, VC-backed company. |
| What is UnitedMasters' valuation? | UnitedMasters was last valued at $550M in its Series C in October 2021. |
| How much funding has UnitedMasters raised? | UnitedMasters has raised $170M across 3 funding rounds. |
| What was UnitedMasters' last funding round? | UnitedMasters' last funding round was a $50M Series C in October 2021, led by Andreessen Horowitz. |
| Who are UnitedMasters' investors? | UnitedMasters' investors include Andreessen Horowitz, Alphabet, Apple and 20th Century Studios. |
| Which companies are comparable to UnitedMasters? | Companies comparable to UnitedMasters include Songtradr, YG Entertainment, BandLab, Avex, Tips Music and JYP Entertainment. |
| How many companies has UnitedMasters invested in? | UnitedMasters has invested in 1 company, including Udio. |
| What was UnitedMasters' last investment? | In April 2024, UnitedMasters invested in Udio's $10M seed round alongside Tay Keith, Will·I. Am, Andreessen Horowitz and 4 other investors. |
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