We see a lot of noise around startups getting people to share photos and videos with music, but very few of them get any traction. That’s not something you could say about Flipagram: the US startup has just raised a startling $70m funding round from big-hitting VCs Sequoia, Kleiner Perkins and Index Ventures, with 30 million monthly active users swapping “Flipagrams” that include photos, videos, text and music. “They have the right partnerships, business model, and intellectual firepower to be the preferred platform for next-gen content creators,” said Kleiner Perkins’ John Doerr, who is joining Flipagram’s board. Partnerships? Well, that’s the other news: Flipagram has signed licensing deals with all three major labels as well as Merlin, The Orchard and the three major music publishers. So, unlike a lot of its rivals, Flipagram isn’t relying on fair-use and 30-second clips. Watch now for an upswing in the number of artists using it for promotional purposes – Pitbull is already prominent on that score.
Tools: platforms to help you reach new audiences
Tools: Kaiber
In the year or so since its launch, AI startup Kaiber has been making waves,…