ArtistFirst Technology Inc, which runs music NFT marketplace FanTiger, on Tuesday said it has raised $5.5 million in a Seed round led by Multicoin Capital. The round also saw participation from Krafton, Pravega Ventures, GAMA, Woodstock Fund, IOSG Ventures, Polygon Studios and individuals Sandeep Nailwal (Co-founder of Polygon), Gokul Rajaram, Prashant Malik and Miten Sampat.
What will funds be used for?
The company said that it plans to use the funds raised to grow its team across Product, Tech, extend industry partnerships and onboard major Artists.
Co-Founders
FanTiger is co-founded by Prashan Agarwal--alumnus of IIT Kanpur and ISB Hyderabad, ex-CEO of Gaana and Co-Founder of PropTiger, and Krishna Singh-a Computer Science Engineer from IIT Kanpur.
What does FanTiger do?
FanTiger empowers Independent Artists to build fan communities on the platform and enable fans to play a role in helping shape their career by buying music NFTs. These music NFTs give the fans a chance to be part of an exclusive community with the Artist and get special privileges and earn rewards. Special privileges like early access to exclusive behind the scenes content, meet-n-greet opportunities, unreleased music, backstage access to concerts etc to strengthen direct engagement and loyalty with fans, it said in a statement.
Prashan, CEO and Co-Founder of FanTiger, said, “The business of music should be to serve the best interests of Artists. With the advent of blockchain, music NFTs have the ability to disrupt the music industry structure, much like music streaming transformed music listening. FanTiger helps create Artist-Fan relationships as has never existed before, this will give birth to a new era for Music. Our vision is to onboard 10 million users to our platform to own digital collectibles and supercharge the career of 100k artists”.
Early Access program
Ahead of FanTiger’s official launch, the company has opened an Early Access program for music fans on www.fantiger.com. The early access waitlist gives its most eager fans a chance to get exclusive benefits, like priority access to the launch of music NFTs, OG title, limited-edition merchandise, access to music concerts and more. The biggest pull to its early access waitlist is the jaw-dropping 5,000 free NFTs it plans to give away to its early members.
Investor speak
Kyle Samani, Partner, Multicoin, added, “The FanTiger platform is uniquely positioned to grow the digital collectibles ownership in the music industry. We are excited to partner with Prashan, who brings vast experience of building the largest music streaming platform in India, to disrupt the music industry once again.”
“Music is one of the most exciting use cases for NFTs. Prashan’s exceptional track record as a repeat founder and music industry executive makes him the ideal person to transform the music industry in a way that empowers artists and their fans,” said Sandeep Nailwal, Co-Founder of Polygon.
