EngineEars Software Platform Raises $7.5 Million

Photo Credit: EngineEars

EngineEars, a software platform for artists, engineers, producers, and record labels, raises $7.5 million in a seed funding round led by VC firm Drive Capital.Vertical software platform EngineEars, designed for artists, engineers, producers, and record labels to facilitate discovery, session bookings, payments, project management, and distribution, has announced a successful $7.5 million seed round led by venture capital firm Drive Capital.

Other entities taking part in the round were Slauson & Co., 645 Ventures, SALXCO’s venture arm FLÜS, EMPIRE CEO Ghazi, LVRN co-founders Tunde Balogun and Sean Famoso, and artists like Kendrick Lamar, DJ Khaled, YG, Mustard, and Russ.

“When I started my career as an independent audio engineer, I witnessed firsthand the fragmented and antiquated processes inhibiting my potential growth as a small business. Based on necessity, we went out to develop the EngineEars platform,” said EngineEars founder and multi-Grammy Award-winning audio engineer Derek “MixedByAli” Ali. “With music creation exploding at all levels, the need for collaboration tools and streamlined file transfer, scheduling and payment solutions has never been greater.”

According to CTO Luke Sorenson, the success of the seed funding round means the Los Angeles-based EngineEars can now provide “an easily searchable repository of vetted recording studios for artists to access globally,” enabling studio owners to streamline the management of bookings through “seamless scheduling and direct calendar integration, and automated payment splits to the personnel working each studio session.”“We’re big believers in founders working to solve their own problems, and Derek is absolutely doing that by bringing efficiencies to the historically inefficient process of payments and collaboration in the music industry,” said Chris Olsen of Drive Capital Partners. “We believe in Derek’s vision to build EngineEars into the platform where investment in music happens.”

Described as an “Airbnb system for recording studios,” EngineEars aims to streamline processes for studios, many of which have spent the last few years retrofitting their facilities to accommodate emerging spatial audio technologies.