Kickstarter has been around for a lot longer than people first realize, and in that time – since they were founded in 2009 – the firm has yet to take in another firm under their wing, until now. While Kickstarter is in the business of getting other businesses off the ground, the firm had yet to acquire a company of their own. In acquiring Drip this week however, they’ve made history. Drip is the first acquisition for Kickstarter, and while you might not think that Kickstarter make much money, they take 5% of the final amount from successfully-funded projects. Added up over a multitude of $1 Million+ projects, and Kickstarter is making some decent money.
As such, the firm has some money to spend, and have done so in acquiring a music startup dubbed Drip. The service could be considered as a sort of “Indie Spotify”, although that doesn’t quite do them justice. Drip is a music service that allows listeners to pay a fee each month and listen to some of the best independent music around. While that “best” moniker might be subjective, Drip itself is all about freedom for the listener as well as the independent labels that sign with the firm as well. Kickstarter, over on their official blog, describes Drip as a “inspired community of independent artists, record labels, and audiences who support their work directly”. From the sounds of it, Kickstarter has become Drip’s Knight in shining armor. Due to financial issues, Drip was going to have close its doors come March 18th, but Kickstarter stepped in and purchased the company, thus putting an end to any financial issues.
Founded back in 2011 by Sam Valenti IV and Miguel Senquiz, the firm will see few changes under Kickstarter’s ownership however, Senquiz is said to be joining the firm’s new owner in some sort of capacity. It does seem as though Drip and Kickstarter are a good fit, as both of them want to get their audiences closer to the artists and producers, but what this means for Kickstarter could be a lot bigger. With a small, indie music brand like Drip joining the fold, Kickstarter now has experience they can use to better promote music projects, and even have an easy-to-use streaming solution for the listener, too.