Two months after raising a $28 million funding round led by Proxima Media, US-based music video platform and TikTok rival Triller has announced the addition of a heavyweight roster of investors and strategic partners.
Triller’s new investors include Snoop Dogg, The Weeknd, Marshmello, Lil Wayne, YoungThug, Kendrick Lamar, Baron Davis, Tyga, TI, Jake Paul and Troy Cartner; mega-music managers Gee Roberson (Co-CEO of The Blueprint Group), Moe Shalizi (founder of The Shalizi Group), Wassim Sal Slaiby (CEO of XO Records), Amir Cash Esmailian of XO, and Ash Pournouri (former manager for Avicii);.
Also joining as investors and strategic partners are Shawn Gee (President of Live Nation Urban), Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith (Chief Executive Officer of TDE), James Prince (Chief Executive Officer of Rap-a-Lot Records), and Believe Digital, among others.
The new addition of these backers is understood to have raised a further $10m-plus for Triller.
The firm’s recent Series B raise gave Triller a potential valuation of $130 million.
Triller has agreed licensing partnerships with Warner Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, and Universal Music Group. All three are believed to own a minority piece of the company.
The platform says that it now has over 26.5m monthly average users and more than 75m users in total.
That 26.5m figure is significant: TikTok revealed that it had exactly that number of active users in the United States in an advertising deck back in February. As a result, Triller claims it is now “overtaking” TikTok in the States.
Triller claims to be seeing over 500% month-over-month growth with usage time at over 20 minutes on average, with three times a day login average for users, and over an hour daily by creators.
In addition to its new investors and strategic partners, Triller has announced that as of this week, subscription users can stream full-length songs for free – rather than just 30 to 60 second clips – ‘from virtually every label, directly within the Triller app’.
Users can also save songs to their own playlists and access Triller playlists.
Triller also allows artists and publishers to receive full stream credit when a video goes viral, with streams counted directly on Triller.
“Unlike other platforms, Triller is dedicated to artist-centric growth and directly helps artists with their billboard charts by elevating their stream counts.”
Bobby Sarnevesht, Triller
“For the first time, streaming will benefit all parties,” said Bobby Sarnevesht, Executive Chairman of Triller and Partner in Proxima Media, a Triller strategic Partner.
“The label, artists, and publishers get credit and revenue from steams and the associated streaming fees.
“Unlike other platforms, Triller is dedicated to artist-centric growth and directly helps artists with their billboard charts by elevating their stream counts.”
“To have the biggest names in hip hop and music join Triller validates the genuine need for a radical shift in the way the music industry has operated.”
Ryan Kavanaugh, Proxima Media
Ryan Kavanaugh, founder of Proxima Media and a Triller strategic partner, added: “To have the biggest names in hip hop and music join Triller validates the genuine need for a radical shift in the way the music industry has operated.
“Together, we are finally changing the game and making sure the music ecosystem is as it should be, as we build the MTV for today’s generation. We are a destination not just an app.”
Mike Lu, Chief Executive Officer of Triller, said: “We are incredibly fortunate to work with some of the largest artists on the planet, and today’s announcement about our increasing portfolio of partnerships and collaborations with top labels and artists marks perhaps the most significant shift in music since the creation of streaming.
“We are truly putting the music business back together, and artists recognize the importance of Triller to the future of the industry.”
Lauren Braun Diamont, Vice President of Content and Strategy at Triller, added: “One of the most common questions any music app gets from music and label partners is ‘how will this app help our streaming numbers?
“Triller has unlocked the secrets to social streaming, by closing the loop between viral videos and music streams.”
“Triller ’s mission is to support artists and musicians, and this new partnership allows musicians to fully take credits for streams directly from Triller.”
Gee Roberson, Blueprint Group / Maverick
Gee Roberson, Co-Chief Executive Officer of the Blueprint Group and partner at Maverick and strategic advisor to Triller said: “Triller ’s mission is to support artists and musicians, and this new partnership allows musicians to fully take credits for streams directly from Triller.
“This is important as those streams can now count toward their platinum and gold records. Welcome to the world of social streaming creating by Triller.”
This is a revolutionary deal for the music business as Triller has opened the path for streaming services to be accretive in value to our artists.”
Denis Ladegaillerie, Believe Digital
Denis Ladegaillerie, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Believe Digital, said: “Triller has always prioritized the music industry and artists.
“We’re excited to invest in Triller and support our artists in launching their new projects.
“This is a revolutionary deal for the music business as Triller has opened the path for streaming services to be accretive in value to our artists.”
“Partnering and working with large, established artists like Marshmello to emerging artists like Roddyricch, Triller is revolutionizing the music industry by allowing streams to count towards artists on the platform.”
Moe Shalizi
Moe Shalizi, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of The Shalizi Group, said: “Triller has been an incredible platform for artist discovery and has helped take artists to the next level.
“Partnering and working with large, established artists like Marshmello to emerging artists like Roddyricch, Triller is revolutionizing the music industry by allowing streams to count towards artists on the platform.
“This transaction demonstrates their commitment to artists and the business and deepens artists connection to their fans.”Music Business Worldwide
