Kid Cudi co-founded AR music app Encore launched with $9 million in funding

Encore, an interactive live performance platform co-founded by Kid Cudi, has launched the Encore Studio app.

The launch follows a $9 million raise led by Battery Ventures and other investments from 468 Capital, Parade Ventures, Nomad Ventures, Moving Capital, Kayak Ventures and Gaingels.

Encore is a tool for musicians to post new music and host conversations and interactive experiences with fans.

Using Encore, artists can create and perform live in personalized augmented reality environments, essentially developing a show on stage through their phones.

Fans participate via microtransactions in the form of a ten cent “clap”, which can be used to watch live broadcasts, chat with an artist, and interact.

The claps are split 80/20 between Encore and the creator, with 80% going to the artists, the company says.

During the private beta, “hundreds” of artists, including SSGKobe, KYLE, Too $hort and The Cool Kids, created and pitched Encore shows to “tens of thousands” of fans, Encore says, and were collectively “applauded almost a million times”. .

Based in Los Angeles, Encore is led by a team of artists, creatives, and tech entrepreneurs, all aiming to “democratize the music industry,” the company explains.

Encore is co-founded by award-winning artist Kid Cudi (Creative Director), Hollywood producer, writer and director Ian Edelman (Chairman), and tech entrepreneur Jonathan Gray (CEO).

Augmented reality is nothing new – Live Nation experimented with integrating AR products into some festival apps in 2019 – but Encore’s announcement is tied to a surge of companies investing more and more in technology.

In June 2021, Universal Music Group (UMG) and Snapchat signed what the companies at the time called an “expansive” and “multifaceted” global agreement.

The deal allowed Snapchat users to integrate UMG’s catalog of recorded music and content into creative tools, including sounds and augmented reality lenses.

“Musical artists are the original creators and they have been forgotten by the creator economy.”

Jonathan Gray, Again

Jonathan Gray, CEO of Encore, said, “Music artists are the original creators and they have been forgotten by the creator economy and overrun by memes and social media algorithms.

“Our live AR technology allows any artist to create custom content and host experiences for their fans without a production budget or crew and earn real money with hundreds of engaged fans.”The music industry around the world