Lickd has announced a series A investment of £1.7 million and signed a partnership with BMG.
The deal marks the platform’s first partnership with a big label and publisher.
Licked provides video creators with access to licensed music.
The angel investors include Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason and the Pentland Group. The investment will be used to fund the company’s expansion and for continued development of its proprietary Vouch software, which allows YouTubers to use music without infringing copyright.
The BMG deal will provide access to 3 million songs, which will be pre-cleared for social video use.
Paul Sampson, CEO of Lickd, said: “For the last two years we have been working behind the scenes to create a platform which meets the needs of online content creators when it comes to licencing music without it impacting their revenues. The fact that both BMG and our investors, which include both prominent and respected media and entertainment figures, have recognised that artists and rights holders alike can also benefit from this new economy of video creators is testament to the growth opportunity in this space”.
Mason added: "Lickd has identified a very real problem in music licensing and has created an opportunity which both enables online video creators to legally use great music while simultaneously creating a new, fair and legitimate revenue stream for artists and writers. It is a big step forward for the industry and clearly demonstrates how innovation can positively impact both content creators and rights holders".
Patrick Joest, EVP global content partnerships & sync at BMG, said: “Since meeting Paul and the team last year, it quickly became apparent that Lickd not only has a strong proposition but that it really understands how the modern music industry has the potential to evolve if provided with the right opportunities. Pre-cleared catalogue access for micro-licensing is definitely one of those opportunities. We are thrilled to be working with Lickd as its first major music partner and are looking forward to being part of its journey.”
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