UK-based digital platform Lickd has secured a £1.7 million Series A funding round from a group of investors.
SI Partners advised Lickd during the negotiations. The round was led by Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason and the Pentland Group and ties in with several label partnerships. Amongst others, Lickd has entered into a deal with BMG that will provide access to 3 million songs pre-cleared for social video use.
"We’re delighted we’ve closed our Series A round and equally so with the investors we have been able to secure. Getting the funding means that Lickd can scale not just its software and team but also its marketing and business development efforts to help bring Video Creators and the Music Industry the solutions they need to align effectively. SI Partners were integral to that raise and proved a fantastic guiding hand in the process and we benefited greatly from their counsel, guidance and network. It was a pleasure working with them".
Paul Sampson | CEO / Fo-Founder at Lickd
The deal marks the platform’s first partnership with a big label and publisher. The investment will be used to fund the company’s expansion and for continued development of its proprietary Vouch software, which allows YouTubers to use music without infringing copyright.
Lickd is a digital platform which helps YouTube content creators legally use licensed music. Based in London, the tech start-up provides commercial music from record labelled for licensed use on video sharing website YouTube.
Paul Sampson, CEO of Lickd, said: “For the last two years we have been working behind the scenes to create a platform which meets the needs of online content creators when it comes to licencing music without it impacting their revenues. The fact that both BMG and our investors, which include both prominent and respected media and entertainment figures, have recognised that artists and rights holders alike can also benefit from this new economy of video creators is testament to the growth opportunity in this space”.
Mason added: “Lickd has identified a very real problem in music licensing and has created an opportunity which both enables online video creators to legally use great music while simultaneously creating a new, fair and legitimate revenue stream for artists and writers. It is a big step forward for the industry and clearly demonstrates how innovation can positively impact both content creators and rights holders”.
Patrick Joest, EVP global content partnerships & sync at BMG, said: “Since meeting Paul and the team last year, it quickly became apparent that Lickd not only has a strong proposition but that it really understands how the modern music industry has the potential to evolve if provided with the right opportunities. Pre-cleared catalogue access for micro-licensing is definitely one of those opportunities. We are thrilled to be working with Lickd as its first major music partner and are looking forward to being part of its journey.”
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