Platoon for Artists ‘to help musicians manage careers’

The app was officially launched last week. It is not listed on the App Store but is available for download. Interested artists will need to get an invite to access the service.

“Managing your artist career has never been easier,” Apple said. Platoon for Artists is your home to manage content, streams, revenue, and more.”

The tool lets artists share content to promote new and previous releases, view statistics and learn about their fans across different platforms. Monthly revenue generated from a catalogue can be viewed in one place.

Platoon was co-founded by music industry veteran Denzyl Feigelson in 2016 and was fully acquired by Apple in 2018. The UK-born distribution and artist services platform is widely known for fast-tracking artists who are in the early stages of their careers, some of whom have gone on to achieve global success.

African Artists who have deals with Platoon include Nigerian stars Mr Eazi and Simi as well as international artists including Billie Eilish, Stefflon Don and Jorja Smith.

Feigelson has worked with Apple for more than 15 years on live events and artist relations. He was also the original founder of Kobalt-owned services company Artists Without a Label (AWAL).

Platoon has also taken a keen interest in Africa, venturing into the African music market with the development of its Cape Town Creative Lab in 2016. In 2020, Feigelson told Billboard that the company had been “offering advances, distribution and support to 88 African musicians – and quietly becoming a major player amid an industrywide shift toward establishing a larger footprint on the continent”.

“I want artists to be able to manage their music on our platform, get services like health care, legal and accounting, learn about publishing, touring, how you market, and conquer things like YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, Twitch,” he said, adding that African artists occasionally represented up to 40% of the company’s business.