Serenade, the eco-friendly music NFT marketplace whose mission is to support artists by creating new revenue streams from unique fan experiences, has announced new investment and plans to expand its global operations following a breakthrough first six months.
Who are Serenade’s investors?
The firm has revealed a new $6 million (Aus) fundraise that will further fund and help grow its artist and partner roster across the United Kingdom and Australia, as well as in the United States, where the company will be entering the market and launching a dedicated office.
The firm was supported by several investors, like senior management figures from Atlantic Records UK, Secret Sounds, Future Classic, UNIFIED Music Group and Warner Music Group, as well as Hollywood actor Hugh Jackman. The group has also been joined by Matt Gudinski and Johann Poniah of Mushroom Group and former Powderfinger frontman Bernard Fanning.
Serenade will also be undertaking both a visual brand refresh and improvement to its NFT marketplace tech. The marketplace, Serenade 2.0, will offer artists unique smart contracts and the ability to split and update royalties amongst multiple beneficiaries, whilst fans will have an improved user experience, including the option to transfer their NFTs outside of the Serenade platform and seamlessly trade on third party marketplaces like OpenSea.
What is Serenade’s market reach?
In February Serenade also delivered a major industry first when it partnered with the Brit Awards for the event’s first ever NFT collection. The Adele X Artist Of The Year Award NFT sold out within 30 mins of launch. Since launching in Autumn 2021, the firm has worked with 15 artists, ranging from emerging to household names like Young M.A, The Kooks, Jungle, Super Furry Animals, Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes and Gary Powell from The Libertines.
During the past week Serenade has released NFTs with Aussie and UK acts Confidence Man, Kota Banks, Juice Menace, Dead Pony and Shivum Sharma, unlocking the value of direct to fan revenues for artists of all career stages who want to super serve their greatest fans.
Max Shand, Founder, Serenade said: “We’ve been thrilled with the platform’s development since launching six months ago, and this progress is testament to the incredible work of our team and the investors. We know there is huge demand for accessible, eco-friendly NFTs – and we look forward to further growth, developing the US and other markets and launching version 2.0 of the platform in the coming weeks and months. What a time to come.”
