Exclusive: Musiversal raises $6M for online music collaboration
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Musiversal has raised a $6 million Series A as it plans a U.S. expansion, executives exclusively tell Axios.
Why it matters: The funding supports a mission to connect artists and democratize collaboration in the era of AI.
How it works: Musiversal's platform enables booking musicians for remote recording sessions. Subscribers can collaborate in real time with musicians for instrumental and production needs, turning their own setups into virtual professional recording studios.
- The platform allows members to livestream sessions, download the recordings and retain their music rights. It charges $249 per month for unlimited access to live sessions.
Catch up quick: Co-founders André Miranda and Xavier Jameson said the idea for the startup stemmed from their personal frustrations when their desire to hear music they composed performed was limited by costs and musicians' time.
- Miranda founded the startup in 2018 in Lisbon and met Jameson in London in 2020. What was meant to be a one-hour meeting turned into a three-hour discussion and shortly thereafter they began working together with Miranda as CEO and Jameson as COO.
Follow the money: Iberis Capital led the round, which brought the startup's total funding to $10 million. Lince Capital also participated.
- Seed round backers include Shilling Capital, Intersection Ventures, SBS Braga and LC Ventures.
- Iberis Capital founding partner João Henriques says he met Miranda in April 2022 in Lisbon during their seed raise and reconnected after that year's Web Summit where Musiversal won most promising startup.
Zoom in: Musiversal plans to add co-writing, production and marketing services to its platform.
- The company has more than 100 musicians, more than 1,000 members and hosts 100,000 sessions per year on the platform. It aims to double each of those metrics by the end of 2026.
Zoom out: Musiversal is positioning itself as human-first in the AI era.
- "We're not anti-AI, but we're proposing a different pathway for artists and musicians, which is we're not going to replace musicians with AI. We're going to make musicians more relevant in the age of AI," Miranda says.
What's next: Musiversal plans to build a free hub of educational material to help creators improve their skills and foster an online community.
One fun thing: Musiversal is hosting an event called "No Limits Live" on Oct. 25 in Los Angeles with live recording sessions, performances and networking.
