Social music startup Smule has raised $54 million in a strategic financing round led by Tencent. The funds will be used to expand the service, which has 54 million monthly active users creating over 20 million songs daily, into Asia.
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Giant Chinese investor Tencent has led a $54 million round in social music startup Smule. They join existing investors including Adams Street Partners, Bessemer Ventures, Floodgate, Franklin Templeton, Granite Ventures, and Shasta Ventures who previously pumped $90 million into the company in 8 rounds.
CEO Jeff Smith has said that his vision is to “build a social network around music,” and it seems to be working.
Reuters reports that the round valued the company at $604 million and that an IPO is in the planning stages. Last year Smule revenue grew 54% to $101 million, monthly active users increased by 52% to 52 million and subscribers by 100%.
Artists Use Smule To Connect With Fans
Artists like like Train, Ed Sheeran, Shawn Mendes, Rizky Febian, Luis Fonsi, and Christian Nodal are also using the platform to connect with fans.
Most recently, Smule debuted its first national broadcast commercial for their Smule Sing! app featuring rock band Train singing along to their global hit single “Play That Song” with some of the app’s biggest users. “We are always looking for creative and innovative ways to connect with our fans,” said Pat Monahan of Train. “Smule allows us to engage with our fans on a deeper level and we can’t wait to see all the amazing duets of ‘Play That Song’ on Smule Sing!”