How a site selling samples made a No.1 hit and $35m in funding
Splice has grown from a site offering samples to creating a number 1 hit with Demi Lovato and a massive round of funding.
Splice creator Steve Martocci started his entrepreneurship with a text messaging service, now years later he’s getting $35 million to sell samples to artists. Startup Splice is a two-way market of samples and digital music tools where creators can buy or sell their own.
In the four years since it’s inception Splice has distributed $5 million to creators contributing to their sample library. Their success recently peaked with Demi Lovato’s hit ‘Sorry Not Sorry’ in which producer Oak Felder used a sample from Splice prominently throughout.
So what makes Splice’s samples different from any others? Splice works as a subscription which allows users to sign up for between $8 and $30 a month and choose from their sample library with no royalties or hidden catches.
With the ever-increasing importance and usage of samples in music a subscription service revolutionises the medium for creators. It allows them to try out different things and have access to a multitude of different sounds for the price of a single sample pack.
Martocci may lose out when someone like Demi Lovato gets a number 1 single with his samples but he’s adamant that their methods work. Martocci hopes that in the future they will be able to tailor the service depending on their position, for example splitting it between bedroom producers, amateur bands, high-profile celebs and so on.
Martocci says: “The benefit of using Splice is it’s community driven. It tends to adapt to the needs of the community.” Recently in a Series B round of funding led by DFJ Growth, Splice managed to raise $35 million.
Take a look at Splice and sign up for free today here: splice.com