Music Audience Exchange (aka MAX), the Frisco-based music technology company powering artist x brand sponsorships, has acquired My Artist Pages LLC, known as AMAP.to.
“The acquisition of AMAP.to gives MAX new capabilities that will be integrated into SET.Live and offered to artists as a complete set of artist tools that are easy to use and bridge the gap between live and digital artist-fan relationships,” MAX President Steve Fullbright said in a statement.
Financial details were not released.
MAX, a self-service micro-website, was launched to empower musicians and creators by offering an easier, more attractive way to utilize the link within their social media bios. AMAP.to makes artists’ digital presence more efficient, more accessible, and easier to manage, the company said.
AMAP.to founder Adam Pickney said he realized that the link in the bio of an artist’s social media account should offer hard data and an opportunity for a more genuine connection to backers.
A goal of helping artists
Pickney pulled from his experiences in both technology and music to found AMAP.to in early 2021.
AMAP.to said that when presented with the idea, rapper and entertainer Zachary Beck (aka Futuristic) and Jakob Owens, nationally renowned video director and entrepreneur, recognized that there was an opportunity to create a platform that could streamline methods of monetization that they had each implemented within their own careers.
The beta version of AMAP.to launched in January of 2022 and the company said it surpassed all of the founders’ expectations, with users compiling more than 1 million page views in the first year of beta opening to the public.
The platform currently has more than 6,000 sites/users, including Alicia Keys, Futuristic, Fat Joe, Our Last Night, and several Roc Nation artists.
AMAP.to has direct integration with multiple marketing platforms, including Klaviyo, MailChimp, Shopify, and Google Analytics/Tag Manager, which allows artists to consolidate and simplify their marketing tools and strategies.
“My goal—as always—is to help artists,” Pickney said. “Working with MAX gives us the opportunity to deliver even more features, tools, and integrations. I’m excited to expand what we offer and make AMAP.to a staple of music marketing strategies for artists of all levels.”
Engaging with fans and brands
MAX’s SET.Live platform enables artists to engage directly with fans at live shows while creating unique sponsorable assets for brands.
As the needs of the modern artist evolve and expand, MAX said it is committed to evolving the AMAP.to platform to fit the needs of the users, including eventually weaving all SET.Live capabilities into a fan data repository for managing and monetizing artist fan interactions.
Music Audience Exchange is backed by tech VCs and built by a team of data scientists, engineers, music pros, and digital media experts. It is breaking new ground by powering partnerships for top brands such as Ford, Rocket Mortgage, McDonald’s, AARP, U.S. Marine Corps and more, the company said.
It supports a growing portfolio of more than 1,000 artists including Kane Brown, Jon Batiste, Leela James, Lalah Hathaway, Justin Quiles, AJR, and Melissa Etheridge with live engagement tools and promotional sponsorships.
In October, MAX announced that it received a new Series B funding round led by Interlock Partners, with continued support from Method Capital. The amount of the funding was not disclosed.
The company said that the funding would be used for continued development of SET.Live and expansion of its sales and marketing teams to meet growing demand.
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R E A D N E X T
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Frisco-based MAX, a tech marketing company that powers brand and music partnerships, raised $6 million in 2017. A new round led by Interlock Partners will help fund the development of SET.Live. The new platform lets artists engage with fans at live shows while creating unique sponsorable assets for brands like Ford, McDonald's, and more. “This investment allows MAX to continue fulfilling its mission to automate and digitize artist sponsorships and create a new marketplace for the creator economy,” says CEO and founder Nathan Hanks.
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