Since the rise of sampling in the 1980s – a technique that has become a staple of pop, hip hop, and electronic music – DJs and artists have struggled with how to license and pay for legal use of remixing songs.
Launched in April 2018 in Stockholm, Tracklib is a record store for sampling, enabling music creators to discover, sample, and license original recordings. The startup features a growing library of over 100,000 tracks that users can browse, download, and license for sampling with the click of a button.
Tracklib has just raised a round of €1.5 million, bringing the amount raised to date by the startup to €3.9 million. Sony Innovation Fund, WndrCo, and Jörg Mohaupt invested in the round, which is in preparation for a Series A funding later this year.
Tracklib will use the funding to continue expanding its user base and music catalog for its pioneering service – affordable, instant sample licensing – to bring more great music to more music producers and artists. Offering a large and diverse catalog of licensed original recordings, including unique stems and multitracks, the service is already used and supported by some of the world’s most prominent music producers and artists. Hundreds of songs with Tracklib samples have been released, including J.Cole’s latest double-platinum single “Middle Child” and DJ Khaled’s chart-topping “Holy Mountain”.
“This recent investment demonstrates the belief forward-looking investors have in our solution to one of the most complicated challenges in the music business: how to make sampling accessible, legal and affordable to producers and artists in all stages of their careers,” said Tracklib CEO Pär Almqvist. “We create a new and essential infrastructure in the global music industry, enabling completely new revenues and creative opportunities.”
“We are happy to join Tracklib to support its innovative product and growth plans,” said Gen Tsuchikawa, Chief Investment Officer of Sony Innovation Fund, the venture capital arm of the Sony Corporation. “Sony Innovation Fund is proud to invest in such early-stage and emerging growth companies to help them develop and scale their technologies.”
