SELBY, UK. 29th August, 2024 - FanCircles, the pioneering SaaS superfan platform that empowers music artists to connect directly with their superfans, today announced it has raised $2 million in its latest funding round. This investment, supported by several angel investors, will be used to accelerate the company’s growth, enhance its platform capabilities, and expand its reach within the global music and entertainment industries.
FanCircles has developed a cutting-edge superfan platform that allows music artists to offer exclusive content, personalized experiences, and direct-to-fan sales through custom-branded apps available both on the web and in mobile app stores. While web access is valuable, mobile apps are crucial, with 93% of FanCircles users engaging through the mobile app and 87% enabling notifications to ensure they never miss timely live broadcasts and important announcements.
In an industry where platforms like Weverse provide a multi-artist experience, FanCircles takes a different approach, offering music artists the opportunity to have their own fully branded platforms. This unique model ensures that artists retain full control over their brand identity and fan interactions, a factor that has proven critical in building deep, direct connections with fans.
This model has proven time and time again that it can generate $100,000 for artists per 1,000 fans through Premium subscriptions priced at $99 per year, with artists ranging from Cody Jinks to UB40 successfully using this approach.
This model has proven time and time again that it can generate $100,000 for artists per 1,000 fans through Premium subscriptions priced at $99 per year, with artists ranging from Cody Jinks to UB40 successfully using this approach.
Kevin Brown of FanCircles believes that multi-artist platforms can pose challenges, as they may dilute the artist’s brand and weaken the direct connection between artists and their fans.
“Major companies like Apple Connect and Facebook for Artists have faced difficulties with multi-artist models. This suggests that individual, artist-branded platforms are more effective in resonating with fans and supporting artists’ careers.” - Kevin Brown CEO FanCircles
One of the key features of the FanCircles platform is its ability to let fans stream music directly from the artist, just as they would on platforms like Spotify and Apple Music, but with the added benefit of supporting the artist more directly. This provides artists with a powerful direct-to-fan distribution channel, allowing them to self-release their music independently without relying on traditional DSPs.
The platform is inclusive, offering free access to all fans and creating a welcoming home for everyone. Paid subscription levels are optional, and those who choose to upgrade to a Premium subscription unlock additional benefits such as access to pre-sale tickets, exclusive merchandise, and the ability to unlock music tracks on a track-by-track basis. This approach enhances the overall fan experience and provides value to both free and paying fans.
FanCircles-powered artist-branded superfan platforms seamlessly integrate with ticket agents like Ticketmaster, allowing paid subscribers to access pre-sale tickets. These platforms also connect with merchandise providers, enabling artists to offer exclusive merch directly to superfans. Artists can even bundle their branded app with merchandise and sell it directly or through a merch company, offering packages that might include an album, exclusive t-shirt, or other unique items. These integrations enhance existing relationships rather than interfere with them, creating new revenue opportunities and strengthening fan engagement.
All of this contributes to a unified "home" for everything related to the artist, from exclusive content to merchandise and pre-sale tickets, providing fans with a comprehensive and immersive experience through their favorite artist’s own branded platform.
Moreover, artists retain full ownership of their fan relationships within their artist-branded platforms, allowing direct-to-fan communication through email and, most importantly, push notifications. This ensures that artists can maintain a strong, direct connection with their audience at all times, even when they are on the road. The platform also includes live video streaming capabilities, allowing artists to "go live" from their iPhone whenever they want, similar to Instagram Live, with interactive fan-to-artist and fan-to-fan features.
Another key component of artist-branded platforms is user-generated content (UGC), offering fans a space to share their thoughts, photos, and videos, further enhancing community engagement. Additionally, the platform is designed with ease of use in mind, especially for artists who are constantly on the move. Artist admin features are streamlined, and there are even tour manager logins to alleviate pressure on the artist. FanCircles has worked diligently to perfect the balance between UGC and artist effort, ensuring that both fans and artists benefit from these artist-branded platforms.
The $2 million funding round will be used to expand FanCircles’ market presence and further develop its platform. This includes introducing new features that enhance the fan experience, such as advanced data analytics, more personalized content delivery, and enhanced e-commerce capabilities. The company also plans to scale its operations globally, targeting key markets in North America, Europe, and Asia.
"This investment is a testament to the incredible demand for more authentic and direct artist-fan relationships. FanCircles is more than just a platform—it's firmly putting artists front and center with its unique model of one app per artist." said Brown.
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