Less than 2 years after closing a $12m funding round, livestreaming platform Mandolin shutters
During the pandemic, it is considered one of the leading platforms in the music streaming space. Last year, it was named the world’s most innovative music company via Fast company.
But now Mandolin has announced the closure of its platform.
Mandolin was co-founded in June 2020 by former Salesforce EVP and COO Mary Kay Huse, who became its CEO.
In June 2021, the company announced that it closed a 12 million USD Series A funding round, co-led by 645 Ventures and Foundry Group, with return investments from High Alpha and Marc Benioff’s TIME Ventures.
That investment comes eight months after Mandolin secured a private investment $5 million seed investment, starring High Alpha Capital and Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff.
in one declare ABOVE Instagram Yesterday (April 19), Mandolin confirmed: “After 3 incredible years, we regret to announce that Mandolin will no longer provide the digital fan experience you love. again. We would like to thank every fan who supported the live stream, digital meet and fan page on our platform; doing so has helped create a more authentic ecosystem for fans and artists alike.
“We truly believe in the power of our fans to lift the entire music community for the better, so please consider transferring the money and attention you paid to see a concert. Go live with us to buy your favorite artist’s latest vinyl, merchandise or tickets on the channels of their choice!”
Last June, Indianapolis-based Mandolin announced through a press release that it is launching “the music industry’s first all-in-one data unification and recommendation platform”.
That launch involved the introduction of a ‘Fan Navigator’ – which Mandolin calls ‘the most powerful data dashboard available in the industry’ – along with a ‘Fan Page’.
Trusted by more than 1,000 artists to date, Mandolin Fan Experiences is the industry’s most comprehensive set of fan networking tools, spanning from live streams and meet & greets, the media release said. digital interrogation to the NFT. And now, with the help of Mandolin Fan Pages, a free feature-rich bio-association solution, artists can create a super interactive community with just a few clicks, rewards super fans while eliminating passive fans.”
Mandolin isn’t the first music-streaming platform to be a huge hit in the post-pandemic era.
Sessions, founded by formerPandora boss Tim Westergren in 2020, quietly turn off the phone in Q1 this year.
“Let’s face it, digital music has let down working musicians,” Westergren said at the time of Sessions’ launch.
“Recorded music has depreciated and digital retail is driving artists further and further away from their audiences. They need an alternative. Sessions gives control back to the artist. We create audiences and enable artists to turn that fan base into a trusted live patron and support platform. A financial reward system driven by fandom.”
Elsewhere in the music industry, we learned this month that Gimme Radio will be shutting down on April 29.
The platform will be closed for over a year after raising a seven-figure investment from backers including Fruit garden, iHeartMediaAnd harmony.
Gimme Radio runs two services – Gimme Metal for heavy metal fans and Gimme Country for country/Americana fans.Global Music Business
