New York-based Creative Intell, which describes itself as an artificial intelligence-powered dealmaking platform for the music industry, has raised USD $3 million in its seed funding round.
The firm has attracted investments from a number of high-profile strategic investors including:
- Austin Rosen, CEO and founder of Electric Feel Entertainment, which co-manages American star Post Malone;
- The Killers and Imagine Dragons’ managers, brothers Mac and Robert Reynolds;
- Bad Bunny management firm/label, Rimas Entertainment;
- Milk & Honey Management President Lucas Keller;
- Investment firm Ruttenberg Gordon Investments;
- Lucy Guo, co-founder of venture capital firm Back End Capital;
- Dr. Richard James Burgess MBE, president and CEO of the American Association of Independent Music;
- Barry Weiss, veteran music executive and CEO of RECORDS (a joint venture with Sony Music);
- Entertainment lawyers Dina LaPolt and Robert Celestin;
- Executive producer Bret Disend;
- Kevin Liles, co-founder and CEO of 300 Entertainment;
- Lyor Cohen, the global head of music at YouTube, are also among Creative Intell’s new investors.
Creative Intell was co-founded in 2019 by David Fritz, a partner at entertainment law firm Boyarski Fritz.
The startup that Fritz co-founded with Steven Ship, completed its seed fundraising on Tuesday (July 26).
Speaking with Billboard in November 2021, Fritz said Creative Intell is poised to be “the LegalZoom for the music business.”
“It will offer software tools that help attorneys with the aid of artificial intelligence. It isn’t just going to be limited to the music business,” Fritz said at the time.
“All artists should have access to tools that help them understand the deals they are making.
Steven Ship, Creative Intell Co-Founder
Creative Intell intends to use the proceeds from the deal to continue developing its patent-pending, AI-powered legal and educational tools for musicians and their teams. The company’s CI software platform is still in private peta, but it is already inviting users to sign up for early access.
With Creative Intell, artists and related parties will be able to negotiate contracts on a “seamless, secure, real-time environment” platform, the startup said.
The platform also streamlines work for lawyers working with top acts, allowing them to free up time for higher-value client issues.
Additionally, the platform also provides end-to-end legal solutions for millions of under-represented or under-resourced artists. The services include drafting, negotiating, and signing, as well as data mining and reporting. Creative Intell seeks to help artists avoid typical industry pitfalls and provide educational resources on how they could protect their revenues, it added.
“For too long, artists have been left in the dark about how their deals are structured and function. It doesn’t need to be this way. All artists should have access to tools that help them understand the deals they are making,” Creative Intell co-founder Ship said.
Fritz claims that Creative Intell is the first in the industry to apply AI in solving issues facing creators, managers and lawyers.
“Creative Intell empowers artists to avoid bad deals and, more importantly, take control of their future. Gone are the day of keeping artists in the dark about their rights and options.”
Mac Reynolds, The Killers Manager
The Killers and Imagine Dragons manager Mac Reynolds said an artist can feel removed from basic legal terms, “which impact the rest of their lives.”
“Creative Intell empowers artists to avoid bad deals and, more importantly, take control of their future. Gone are the day of keeping artists in the dark about their rights and options,” Reynolds said.
LaPolt, another new investor in the startup, whose firm LaPolt Law represents recording artists such as Cardi B, Mick Fleetwood, and deadmau5, said Creative Intell’s platform will be a “game changer for the music industry.”Music Business Worldwide