Musictech startup Unhurd plugs in and counts off seven-figure raise

London-based musictech startup Unhurd has raised an undisclosed seven-figure amount in a seed investment round. According to the company, the capital will be used to further build out its self-serve marketing solution for artists, management companies, and record labels. While no figures were given for this round, in August of 2021, the company queued up £250,000.

The seed round was led by Kobalt Music founder Willard Ahdritz and saw the participation of Jägermeiter’s VC arm, Best Nights VC, Soundcloud’s VP of Music Intelligence Hazel Savage, Kobalt Captial, the firm created to give copyright owners a better way to sell their copyright and receive capital, CEO Johan Ahlstrom, and additional undisclosed parties.

Similar to what Parisian startup Groover is working on, Unhurd is angling to beat the machine at its own game. And by machine, of course I’m referring to the music industry, and by default all satellite operators therein, and by game, I mean the data that’s driving it.

Launched in late 2019 and founded by former senior analyst at Universal Music Alex Brees, Unhurd is helping artists leverage data that they’re already sitting on but perhaps don’t know what to make of it all by providing a series of actionable items. Think marketing analytics for non-marketers. Or Analysts.

According to the company, “We turn your data into a series of actions that allow you to complete a data-driven marketing campaign in just a few clicks. From running well-targeted social media ads through to pitching to playlists and magazines, we provide the tools to steer your marketing efforts in the right direction.”

With some 3 million songs hitting the proverbial airwaves every month, and everyone and their cousin with a home studio capable of cranking out a Spotify-ready tune, the timing for Brees and Co. couldn’t be better, if not already too late for too many talents that never got further than the “On Sale” bin.

“Our product has made strong progress over the last 18 months with a lean team. We’ve learnt a lot about what artists really want and we now have the opportunity to build upon our initial product launch with some really exciting new features,” says Brees. “Our mission has always been to empower artists from around the world with a data-led, best-in-class marketing platform and I now see this mission as being supercharged with years of industry knowledge thanks to this new fundraise.”

Since launching in 2021, Unhurd has garnered the patronage of some 25,000 artists from around the globe and has been ranked in the top 5 music apps in a number of notable emerging markets last year.