MADISON, Wis., Oct. 20, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, LÜM announced their expansion to Web and Android. Described as the “Home” for independent artists, LÜM is a social network and music discovery platform that allows artists to collaborate with other music creators, share content, and manage relationships with fans. This year, LÜM became the first music streaming platform in the US to allow for direct-to-artist financial support through virtual gifting technology. In the company’s first year on iOS, the platform has drawn over 80,000 creators and surpassed 25 million Notes (LÜM’s in-app currency) gifted to artists across the United States. The value of the Note is equivalent to the average royalty payout per stream on alternative music streaming platforms. While the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly limited artists' ability to make money, virtual gifting is directly helping the development and profitability of independent artists in the music streaming industry.
LÜM recently closed a $3 million Seed II round of funding. To fuel continued work on the platform, the company has also partnered with multi-Grammy-award winner NE-YO and Compound Entertainment co-founders and music executives Tishawn Gayle and Rynell “Tango” Hay.
“Being able to share your art with the world no matter how big or small is a gift in itself. Being able to get paid for sharing your art is the cherry on top, and every artist deserves that opportunity,” says NE-YO. “Every so often a product or tool emerges that disrupts the status quo. In the case of social music streaming and discovery, that product is LÜM. Artists and creators of all sizes can monetize their hard work from the second they upload their content to the platform. No more waiting on quarterly payouts, no more wondering who exactly your fanbase is, and no more wondering how to directly build and speak to your fans. LÜM checks all the boxes and in time will be the new status quo,” added Gayle.
“We live in a world where artists have hundreds of tools that are designed to gain exposure, but the foundation of the business model for music streaming is broken, rendering those tools largely useless,” says Max Fergus, CEO and co-founder of LÜM. “The future of music needs to be built around tools for artists that allow them to maximize their most important assets, their fans, and all of the content they create. LÜM is excited to be leading that charge for independent creators.”
LÜM’s primary goal is to build tools for independent artists to foster closer relationships with artists and fans that also allow them to make money. Along with the expansion to Web and Android, LÜM is also announcing the launch of a new platform for artist collaboration and monetization -- The LÜM Exchange. Launching later this year, the Exchange will allow music creators to buy and sell music services including mixing and mastering, beats, vocals/songwriting, and music reviews. This is the first music-specific marketplace for artists to network, collaborate, and monetize their skill sets on a social network where collaboration is already prominent.
The new Web platform can be accessed at https://lum.fm/
The new Android platform can be accessed at https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=fm.lum.lum
MORE ABOUT LÜM:
In a move that is important for emerging artists, LÜM launched virtual gifting, a direct-to-artist financial support system. LÜM’s virtual gifting service is available without a minimum threshold of followers or video views. In contrast, platforms like TikTok maintain high thresholds, which makes this revenue channel unavailable to independent artists. Overall, the mission of LÜM is to allow artists to monetize their skill sets and fans throughout their entire careers, whether they are just getting started or on the verge of stardom. In essence, LÜM is the best platform for all emerging artists to “connect, collaborate, grow, and make money.”
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Anita Chatterjee / Carrie Bernstein
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