Splice

Splice offers a music production and collaboration platform where creators can download royalty-free samples from producers, artists, and sound designers to mix with their own music content. The platform is supported by music software and rent-to-own plugins. Additionally, creators can add other artists to collaborate on their tracks with options such as artists’ changes on the tracks being viewable by all parties involved in the collaboration while being able to recover earlier versions of the track. The company pays out royalties for the samples to the creators, producers, artists, and sound designers. As of October 2020, the company claimed its sound downloads have grown by 50% since March 2020 to 1.1 million per day.

The company’s most recent funding round was Series D funding worth USD 55 million in February 2021, valuing Splice at nearly USD 500 million. The company has not revealed specific plans for the cash beyond community growth. As of February 2021, the company claimed that its user count had reached 4 million—up from 3 million in October 2020, and its royalty payouts reached USD 15 million in 2020 and USD 40 million in total—compared with the USD 36 million sum reported as of September 2020.

In June 2021, Splice introduced two new plugins: a drum pattern sampler called Beatmaker, and a versatile software synthesizer plugin called Astra. These new features are available within Splice’s existing Sounds+ subscription plan and the new Creator and Creator+ subscription plans. Splice also introduced Splice Bridge which connects Splice Sounds with the creator’s digital audio workstation (DAW). Splice Bridge enables the creator to match their samples’ key and tempo to their tracks before committing to buying them. This tool is included with Sounds+, Creator, and Creator+ plans. The Creator and Creator+ subscription fees are USD 19.99 and USD 29.99 respectively per month. A free 14-day trial is available for the new Astra synthesizer and Beatmaker plugins.

Splice partnered with streaming platform Soundcloud (October 2021) to introduce a new program, “Nova,” designed to elevate emerging music creators. Splice will release 12 Nova Artist Packs (collections of signature sounds, loops, and samples) starting January 2022. Splice sound pack creation opportunities were previously only available to established sample labels and creators. Four winners will receive SoundCloud’s marketing and distribution services (inclusive of dedicated account management, professional marketing and promotion, distribution to major streaming services, and support from SoundCloud for their next project, with USD 20,000 in marketing spend).