Triller, a music-focused social video platform rivaling TikTok, has secured strategic investments from major music industry figures amounting to more than $10 million.
Terms of the deals have not been made public, but an individual familiar with the investment told TheWrap the total amount is in the $10 million to $20 million range.
Triller’s new investors include Snoop Dogg, The Weeknd, Marshmello, Lil Wayne, YoungThug, Kendrick Lamar, Pitbull, Baron Davis, Tyga, TI, and Jake Paul and, along with mega-music managers Gee Roberson, Moe Shalizi (the manager for Marshmello and founder of The Shalizi Group), Amir Cash Esmailian of XO, and Ash Pournouri.
“We are incredibly fortunate to work with some of the largest artists on the planet, and today’s announcement about our increasing portfolio of partnerships and collaborations with top labels and artists marks perhaps the most significant shift in music since the creation of streaming,” Triller CEO Mike Lu said. “We are truly putting the music business back together, and artists recognize the importance of Triller to the future of the industry.”
Notable music industry executives such as Shawn Gee (President of Live Nation Urban), Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith (Chief Executive Officer of TDE), Abe Burns (President of Maverick Digital), James Prince (CEO of Rap-a-Lot Records), and Believe Digital, among others, have also invested in Triller.
Triller reports rapid recent growth, and says it has 26.5 million monthly active users in the U.S. and more than 75 million worldwide. That could put it on track to surpass TikTok domestically; the Chinese company reports 26.5 million monthly active users in the U.S.
The video platform found itself in hot water last month when Triller staffers revolted over the perception that app was being commandeered by Trump supporters after a Trump-driven #MagaChallenge rap contest went viral and drove millions of new views.
Triller says it has the highest engagement of any music social platform in terms of daily time spent on the app, reporting that users spend an average of 20 minutes per day and creators spend over one hour. The company recently acquired MashTraxx, a machine-learning platform for music and video editing, with nine industry-defining patents.
The artists’ equity investments announced on Thursday also involve a strategic partnership with Triller, which also has licensing partnerships with the majority of the top studios, including Warner Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, and Universal Music Group.
“Triller has been an incredible platform for artist discovery and has helped take artists to the next level. Partnering and working with large, established artists like Marshmello to emerging artists like Roddyricch, Triller is revolutionizing the music industry by allowing streams to count towards artists on the platform,” said Shalizi Group founder and CEO Moe Shalizi. “This transaction demonstrates their commitment to artists and the business and deepens artists connection to their fans.”
Back in October Ryan Kavanaugh’s Proxima Media bought a majority investment in Triller, worth $28 million. At the time Proxima also brought in a number of strategic investors, including Silicon Valley veteran, Mahi de Silva, who assumed the role of chairman at Triller.
In addition to Triller’s new investors and partnerships, the company said on Thursday that users who subscribe to the platform can stream full-length songs in-app for free — as opposed to 30 to 60-second clips — from virtually every label, directly within the Triller app. Users can also save songs to their own playlists and access playlists.
“One of the most common questions any music app gets from music and label partners is ‘how will this app help our streaming numbers?’” Triller vice president of content and strategy Lauren Braun Diamont said. “Triller has unlocked the secrets to social streaming, by closing the loop between viral videos and music streams.”