­­­­­UnitedMasters offering artists up to $1m in cash advances

The first tool is courtesy of music financial tech company beatBread, and offers eligible artists funds ranging from $1 000 to $1m. The company says the application process takes a few days to complete. It uses metrics like artists’ streaming and social data to determine how much they can get, after which a streamlined verification and documentation process is applied before a payout is made.

“The team at beatBread has a shared vision with UnitedMasters,” beatBread CEO Peter Sinclair said. “Our mission is to empower independent musicians by expanding access to capital in a way that doesn’t sacrifice artist ownership or choice. We are excited to partner with this forward-looking team to advance the cause of independence in the new music industry.”

UnitedMasters joins several music platforms that have partnered with beatBread recently, including Symphonic Distribution, Horus Music and Indie Amplify.

Additionally, UnitedMasters partnered with Paperchain, a platform that uses algorithms to predict an artist’s royalty earnings based on their latest streaming figures. The service then pays out those earnings in real time through its digital wallet and card.

“One of the biggest roadblocks for independent artists is access to funding and financial tools,” UnitedMasters CEO and founder Steve Stoute said. “UnitedMasters is the No 1 destination for creators to make a living and build a career while remaining independent, and providing financial solutions for these artists is just another step in levelling the playing field. With these pioneering products and partnerships with beatBread and Paperchain, we are democratising access to capital and we will continue to invest aggressively in building a marketplace that unleashes an economic model for the 99% of artists.”

The development adds to the UnitedMasters’ financial tools. Earlier this year, the platform launched Split Pay, which allows its Select artists to automatically split royalties with their collaborators on any track they distribute. It follows the company’s $50m funding round of investments from Apple and Google parent company Alphabet.

Launched in November 2020, beatBread has funded more than 100 artists across multiple genres. The company secures artists’ advances from investors by offering them “high growth with high potential yield.” Paperchain, meanwhile, is backed by companies such as Sony Music distribution service The Orchard, Live Nation and Goldman Sachs, among others.