UK-based startup Cantilever has raised £250k of pre-seed funding from a group of 20 independent labels and individuals from those companies.
!K7, Because, City Slang, Domino, Everlasting, Exceleration, Hopeless, Ninja Tune, Partisan, Playground, Secret City, Secretly Group and Sub Pop are the labels involved.
They’re backing a startup that launched its mobile app last year in the UK focusing on curated quality over quantity.
Its subscribers pay £4.99 a month for a selection of just 10 albums to listen to, accompanied by long-form journalism and artist interviews. At the end of the month, they rotate out to be replaced by a new selection.
Royalties are shared between those albums on a user-centric basis – meaning that the royalties from each subscriber are divided according to what they’ve actually listened to.
Independent body ORCA announced the funding this afternoon. All the labels involved are also among its supporters.
“Cantilever was built to serve independent record labels and artists, so having over a dozen of the world’s leading independents backing us is the strongest validation we could ask for,” said Cantilever founder Aaron Skates.
“This funding will allow us to make our first hires, improve the user experience and accelerate growth, with partners who have a genuine stake in the company’s success and know exactly who we’re trying to reach.”
The latter quote reflects how early Cantilever is on its journey, only now making its first hires. It’s among a number of startups aiming to provide an independent-focused alternative to the big streaming services, although the imminent shutdown of Nina, another example of this trend, shows how challenging it can be building a sustainable business.
Financial backing from its partners, rather than just licensing arrangements, at least builds out some runway for Cantilever to continue its efforts.
“Independent labels have very few true partners left in the ecosystem. The platforms that make our music available follow their own agenda, which doesn’t always align with the interests of our community,” said Christof Ellinghaus, founder of City Slang and a key mover in ORCA.
He praised Cantilever for being “driven by heavy curation, fairness and enthusiasm for our artists’ music” and described the funding as “a tiny step towards a fair, artist-and-label centric streaming ecosystem. We still have many more steps to go”.
“Cantilever’s proposition allows for immersion in the musicians’ art in a way that’s atypical in today’s environment of content overload. ORCA’s supporters were united in their desire to see it succeed,” added ORCA executive director Patrick Clifton.
