Dirty Hit

Mellomanic, formerly known as We Are Giant, has closed a $6 million funding round, raising its total capital to $13.8 million. Backed by investors including Sterling Partners and other industry veterans, this funding will support the platform‘s expansion and enhancing its music experience offerings for artists and fans. Known for exclusive listening parties and digital events, Mellomanic provides a community-centric space for artists and superfans to connect. With over 400,000 monthly active users — a 13,000% increase since January — the platform has attracted partnerships with major labels such as Atlantic Records, Def Jam, Sony Music Nashville and Virgin Music Group. Its genre-focused “Collectives” — think “We Are Hip Hop,” “We Are Pop” and “We Are Country” — feature listening parties, live streams, and virtual festivals, with artists like Kameron Marlowe, JXDN, Jordy and Big Sean already participating. Mellomanic allows artists to monetize their work and access unique fan data to make informed career decisions. The platform secures music licenses for live streams, ensuring streams count toward traditional metrics tracked by SoundExchange and PROs.
“We’ve learned so much about music communities and fan behaviors this past year, and wanted our name to reflect that. ‘Mellomanic’ pays homage to the melomaniacs, all types of superfans, embodying the spectrum of emotions that exist within different genres of music and their listeners,” said CEO Andy Apple. “It’s been exciting to watch artists and labels leverage our immersive listening parties to release music in exciting, innovative ways, and it’s been special to see superfan communities engage in these live digital experiences that truly range from mellow to manic. Ultimately our goal is to continue providing impactful spaces for fans and artists to come together and celebrate special moments, empowering them to forge enduring relationships while building sustainable communities.”

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Sony Music Entertainment and Crux Global formed a strategic partnership to elevate Ghana’s music industry by offering support to artists at various stages of their careers. The collaboration provides three tiers of assistance: distribution for independent artists through The Orchard, comprehensive full-service support under Sony Music Africa for select artists, and a catalog music tier aimed at preserving the work of renowned Ghanaian musicians on digital platforms. The partnership will be headquartered in Accra, Ghana, which will serve as the hub for artist development, distribution and catalog management. Sean Watson, managing director of Sony Music Africa, will lead the initiative, supported by Christel Kayibi and Jean-Sebastien Permal.

Sony Music Entertainment Vietnam partnered with Great Entertainment, a leading Vietnamese music label, to acquire distribution and marketing rights for its catalog and frontline releases. This collaboration aims to boost the international presence of Great Entertainment’s top-charting artists, including B Ray, Quân A.P, Masew, Khanh ICM, and Khoi Vu. Several releases are scheduled as part of this partnership: Masew, known for hits like “Thiêu Thân” and “Túy âm,” will release a new album in October 2024. Quân A.P, famous for “Bông hoa đẹp nhất” and “You Are My Crush,” will drop new singles in early 2025, while rapper B Ray will also be releasing music soon. Sony Music Vietnam’s roster features popular local stars like Đức Phúc and Hoàng Thùy Linh. “This partnership marks a significant milestone for Sony Music Entertainment Vietnam as we continue to support and elevate the incredible talent emerging from Vietnam’s vibrant music scene,” said Angela Pong, GM of SMEV.

Universal Music Group and Tuned Global expanded their partnership through a global licensing agreement, granting Tuned Global clients access to UMG’s vast catalog of recorded music. This enables clients to use music from top artists in their projects, with integrated technological and licensing support provided by Tuned Global, a leading B2B music and streaming technology provider. The platform’s technology will also allow users to target specific repertoires, and will enable UMG sound recordings to be licensed and delivered securely, followed by timely and accurate usage reports and royalty payments. Tuned Global already hosts UMG’s repertoire on a cloud-based infrastructure, delivering music to clients and DSPs worldwide, further strengthening UMG’s global presence across various sectors. “This new way of working will help to enable ideas to be enhanced by UMG repertoire all over the world,” said James Healy, UMG’s svp of digital strategy and business development.

Indie label Dirty Hit extended its UK physical distribution partnership with Universal Music UK for another three years. This collaboration, which began in 2010, has helped drive the success of several major artists, including The 1975, Beabadoobee, Wolf Alice, Bleachers, Japanese House and Pale Waves, among others. The partnership has led to numerous UK No. 1s, including Beabadoobee’s debut This Is How Tomorrow Moves and all five of The 1975’s studio album releases. “As an independent label, we are always cautious of comprising our artist integrity,” said . “However, working with Warren [Querns at UMUK] and his incredible team has proven to be a fantastic partnership that has helped deliver impressive results time and time again.”

Audiomack, a major music streaming service with a strong presence across Africa, partnered with royalty tracking platform Mogul. This collaboration enables Audiomack’s 30 million-plus monthly users to track their royalties alongside other revenue streams through Mogul’s platform. The partnership aims to bolster transparency and accuracy in royalty distribution, especially for independent artists. The companies said Mogul has already tracked $100 million in royalties, helping artists recover an additional $150 million, since launching earlier this year. “The Audiomack team shares deeply in our vision of financial transparency and through this integration we look forward to helping artists on their platform build longstanding careers in music,” said Mogul CEO Jeff Ponchick.

Creative content company Toikido formed a global partnership with Magic Star, the kids and family division of Sony’s The Orchard, to distribute its music worldwide. Magic Star will serve as Toikido’s official global music distribution partner, using The Orchard’s vast network to share Toikido’s catalogue, which includes soundtracks, original songs, and dynamic audio content, with international audiences. Magic Star will offer Toikido comprehensive services, such as music engagement strategies, video production, brand partnerships and global marketing campaigns. CEO Darran Garnham sees this partnership as a major milestone, highlighting Toikido’s pride in its creative achievements and excitement for future growth with Magic Star’s support.

Music marketing platform SongTools partnered with Sonicbids, the artist development and booking platform recently acquired by Advance Music Technologies. This pairing gives SongTools customers access to Sonicbids’ enhanced artist services, marking the first of many future collaborations for SongTools, which recently raised $3 million to expand internationally and develop more wrist-centric tools. Sonicbids artists will also benefit from exclusive access to SongTools’ one-click Playlisting and advertising services, which are becoming essential for independent musicians. SongTools CEO Danny Garcia sees this collaboration as furthering their commitment to empowering artists with the marketing resources they need to succeed in the competitive music industry, adding “we can’t wait to see how artists make the most of this new opportunity.”

Salt, a digital rights and royalties solutions provider, has secured a multi-million-pound grant from Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation. This funding will accelerate Salt’s development of AI-powered tools to better support music creators and rightsholders. The grant will help Salt improve operational efficiencies and strengthen its leadership in rights management solutions. In collaboration with Queen Mary University’s Centre for Digital Music, Salt aims to leverage AI and digital music expertise to push the boundaries of innovation in the sector. “With Salt’s pioneering AI work and the added horsepower from this funding, our partnership with Queen Mary University becomes a game changer so badly needed in the labyrinthine system that exists today,” said Dave Stewart, Salt investor and Eurythmics co-founder. “We’re poised to continue redefining the music industry landscape, empowering creators and protecting their rights with unmatched innovation.”