EngineEars, a music-tech startup founded by MixedByAli (Derek Ali), has secured backing from a prominent group of new investors.
The companies and individuals investing in the platform include FLÜS, the venture arm of SALXCO, Ghazi, CEO and founder of EMPIRE, Alex Grant (aka Alex da Kid), as well as Tunde Balogun and Sean Famoso, co-founders of Atlanta-based Love Renaissance (LVRN).
The EngineEars platform is described as “a vertical software platform, for artists, engineers, producers and record labels, facilitating discovery, payments, project management, and distribution”.
EngineEars says it has paid out over $1.75 million to platform service providers over the last year, and has seen an annual growth of 350%.
As an engineer, Grammy-Award-winning MixedByAli has worked on tracks and albums by artists including Kendrick Lamar, Jay Rock, SZA, Nipsey Hussle, Snoop Dogg and more.
The EngineEars platform acts a marketplace that lets artists connect with, and book the services of, over 20,000 verified audio engineers. The company says that they are all “vetted for quality and professionalism”.
Artists can book and pay for services such as mixing and mastering via the platform.
EngineEars also offers educational content as well as project management and payment tools for engineers to manage their businesses.
The company already counts Kendrick Lamar, DJ Khaled, Roddy Ricch and LA-based venture capital fund Slauson and Co. among its backers.
The firm raised $1 million in 2021.
FLÜS is the venture arm of SALXCO, a management company founded by music industry executive and talent manager, Wassim “Sal” Slaiby.
Sal is the co-founder and current CEO of XO Records, and the co-manager of The Weeknd.
FLÜS’s portfolio includes a partnership with Live Nation Entertainment and a track record of working artists like The Weeknd, Diddy, and Metro Boomin, among others.
Ghazi Shami, founder and CEO of independent music company EMPIRE, also joined the investment round for EngineEars. In March, Ghazi launched white-label distribution platform Supply Chain, which gives retailers, brands, and service providers access to self-distribution.
EMPIRE has partnerships with Universal Music Group, Web3 music investment platform Nebula and Lickd, a service for accessing claims-free commercial music for video creators.
British music producer Alex da Kid also joined EngineEars as an investor. His career has seen him work on hits for Rihanna, Eminem, and U2, as well as working with breakthrough acts like Imagine Dragons. As a part of EngineEars, Alex da Kid’s expertise will be used in driving the platform’s continued expansion.
Meanwhile, as two of the five founding members of Atlanta-based record, management, and publishing company LVRN ( Love Renaissance), Tunde Balogun and Sean Famoso have worked with artists like Summer Walker, 6LACK, Westside Boogie, and Shelley FKA DRAM.
Recently, LVRN secured a substantial investment of over $25 million from Matt Pincus’ MUSIC, enabling the company’s expansion into Africa. With Balogun and Famoso onboard, EngineEars is set to maintain its support for creatives worldwide.
EngineEars was recently listed as one of GVV Capital’s SMB50 Top Start-Ups April.
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