Online music creation software company BandLab has attracted a further $65 million investment for its series B funding round from Dutch-based investors Prosus, K3 Ventures, Caldecott Music Group and others in a display of confidence in the company.
The investment round was led by Microsoft co-founder Paul G Allen’s company, Vulcan Capital. Allen has invested heavily in digital music projects for many years and his involvement in BandLab is a strong endorsement of the system.
Singapore-based BandLab was created to remove the boundaries for anyone to make and share music. Its founder and CEO Meng Ru Kuok told MUSIC:ED last year that he has a stated aim to supplant Garageband as the leading digital audio workstation (DAW) for entry-level music makers and above, by combining a flexible and accessible music platform with the connectivity of social media.
Able to be used via laptops, desktops, tablets and smartphones, the system has already attracted tens of millions of subscribers. Novice music-makers to Grammy-winners and TikTok stars have been drawn to its cross-platform sharing system that allows online musical collaboration and audience-building subscription features.
It is this open architecture and the incorporation of recently-acquired independent artist platform ReverbNation which has attracted such eager investors.
‘BandLab has built a next-generation platform that is democratising music creation for creators globally,’ said Sachin Bhanot, Head of Southeast Asia Investments for Prosus Ventures. ‘The company has experienced impressive growth while generating solid user engagement. We are thrilled to support the company’s dedication to using innovative technologies, like AI, to put the power in the hands of creators.’
‘Prosus Ventures has a record of highly successful investments in some of the world’s most groundbreaking companies, and we’re thrilled they see the merits of our vision,’ says Meng Ru Kuok. ‘We’re proud to be a leading company in the music creation category and couldn’t be happier to have them join us in empowering the future of music.’
