Music industry funding has shifted. Streaming era is mature. Investors now hunt for what's next.
AI music tools. Artist ownership platforms. Virtual concert tech. Direct-to-fan monetization.
The majors don't control the game anymore. VCs back startups that give power to artists.
This guide lists every active music investor in 2025. Their focus. Check sizes. Portfolio. How to reach them.
How to present your music project to investors
You've got real traction. Streaming numbers growing. Artists signing up. Revenue coming in.
But music industry investors aren't biting.
Stop sending static PDFs. They get buried. You can't see who's interested. A&Rs can't share them easily with partners.
Use trackable links instead. Know when investors open your deck. See which metrics they study. Get notified when they share internally.
Ellty makes it simple. Share secure links. Track engagement. Follow up with the right people at the right time.
Start tracking your pitch deck
30 Active music investors
1. Warner Music Group Ventures
Major label investment arm backing music tech and artist development.
Investment focus: Music technology, artist services, content platforms
Investment range: Varies, typically Series A and beyond
Notable investments: GMM Music, Dancing Bear, Bronze
Contact: wmg.com
2. Sony Music Entertainment
One of the Big Three with active investment in music tech and services.
Investment focus: Music distribution, artist development, music tech
Investment range: Strategic investments, various stages
Notable investments: Fave, NetEase Cloud Music, Neon Hum
Contact: sonymusic.com
3. Universal Music Group
Largest music company globally with venture investments.
Investment focus: Music catalogs, technology platforms, artist services
Investment range: Multi-million dollar strategic investments
Notable investments: RLM, Pex, multiple catalog acquisitions
Contact: universalmusic.com
4. Plus Eight Equity Partners
Electronic music industry-focused VC founded by Richie Hawtin.
Investment focus: Entertainment and technology intersection
Investment range: Early stage
Notable investments: Music tech startups in electronic music space
Contact: plus8equity.com
5. Slow Ventures
Silicon Valley VC investing at intersection of technology and culture.
Investment focus: Music, sports, entertainment technology
Investment range: Pre-seed to Series B
Notable investments: Breakr, music streaming platforms
Contact: slow.co
6. Precursor Ventures
Early-stage fund with music industry investments.
Investment focus: B2B and B2C software including music tech
Investment range: Pre-seed to seed, $250K-$2M
Notable investments: Music industry tools and platforms
Contact: precursorvc.com
7. Crush Ventures
VC arm of Crush Music management company.
Investment focus: Music production tools, fan technology
Investment range: Seed to Series A
Notable investments: Splice, Audioshake, Sound.xyz, CreateSafe
Contact: crushventures.com
8. Stellwagen Ventures
Strategic advisory connecting music rights holders with investors.
Investment focus: Music catalogs, sports, entertainment IP
Investment range: Various, focus on large catalog deals
Notable investments: Music rights acquisitions
Contact: stellwagenv.com
9. Sony Innovation Fund
Corporate venture arm investing in future technologies.
Investment focus: Entertainment tech, AI, immersive experiences
Investment range: Series A and beyond
Notable investments: SportsVisio, Cambridge Mechatronics
Contact: sonyinnovationfund.com
10. Hipgnosis Songs Fund
Music catalog investor now owned by Blackstone.
Investment focus: Music publishing catalogs, songwriter royalties
Investment range: Multi-million dollar catalog acquisitions
Notable investments: Neil Young, Red Hot Chili Peppers catalogs
Contact: hipgnosissongs.com
11. Bain Capital
Private equity giant with music industry investments.
Investment focus: Music catalogs, entertainment companies
Investment range: $100M+ deals
Notable investments: Joint venture with Warner Music ($1.2B fund)
Contact: baincapital.com
12. HarbourView Equity Partners
Content-focused investment firm.
Investment focus: Music catalogs, entertainment IP
Investment range: Various sizes, backed by $500M from KKR
Notable investments: Music rights across genres
Contact: harbourviewequity.com
13. Spintop Ventures
European VC backed by tech entrepreneurs.
Investment focus: Music tech, entertainment platforms
Investment range: Seed to Series A
Notable investments: Music industry startups
Contact: spintopventures.com
No pitch deck yet? Start with this template
14. Index Ventures
Global VC with music tech portfolio.
Investment focus: Technology platforms including music
Investment range: Seed to growth
Notable investments: Music streaming and creation tools
Contact: indexventures.com
15. Alumni Ventures
Network-driven VC with music investments.
Investment focus: Diversified including music tech
Investment range: Various stages
Notable investments: Music industry platforms
Contact: av.vc
16. Initialized Capital
Early-stage fund with cultural investments.
Investment focus: Technology meets culture including music
Investment range: Seed stage, $500K-$2M
Notable investments: Music creation and distribution platforms
Contact: initialized.com
17. Connect Ventures
Music and emerging tech focused investor.
Investment focus: AI music tools, live concert tech
Investment range: Early stage
Notable investments: Royal, Deep VooDoo
Contact: connectventures.co
18. Avex USA Future of Music Fund
Corporate VC from Japanese entertainment giant.
Investment focus: Immersive music experiences, AI tools
Investment range: $5M fund expanding to $25M
Notable investments: Endel, Wave
Contact: avex.com
19. Northstar Ventures
UK-based VC with creative industry focus.
Investment focus: Music tech, creative tools
Investment range: Early to later stage
Notable investments: VRAI, music platforms
Contact: northstarventures.co.uk
20. Balderton Capital
European VC backing music platforms.
Investment focus: Consumer technology including music
Investment range: Series A and beyond
Notable investments: Music streaming services
Contact: balderton.com
21. Structural Capital
Series C focused fund with music investments.
Investment focus: High-growth music and audio companies
Investment range: $500K-$10M
Notable investments: Music industry platforms
Contact: structuralcap.com
22. Local Globe
London-based VC supporting music startups.
Investment focus: Early-stage tech including music
Investment range: Pre-seed to Series C
Notable investments: Music and entertainment platforms
Contact: localglobe
23. Seedcamp
European seed fund with music portfolio.
Investment focus: Early-stage technology
Investment range: Pre-seed and seed
Notable investments: Music tech startups
Contact: seedcamp.com
24. Lightspeed Venture Partners
Global VC with entertainment investments.
Investment focus: Consumer and enterprise including music
Investment range: Early to late stage
Notable investments: Suno ($125M funding)
Contact: lsvp.com
25. Andreessen Horowitz (a16z)
Silicon Valley giant backing music innovation.
Investment focus: Technology platforms including music AI
Investment range: Seed to growth
Notable investments: Udio, music creation tools
Contact: a16z.com
26. Antler
Global early-stage investor with music focus.
Investment focus: Day zero investments
Investment range: Pre-seed, typically $100K-$500K
Notable investments: Music tech startups globally
Contact: antler.co
27. Sterling Partners
Private equity firm with entertainment investments.
Investment focus: Media and entertainment companies
Investment range: $5M to $150M+ equity
Notable investments: Music-related businesses
Contact: sterlingpartners.com
28. OneRagtime
European platform for music investments.
Investment focus: Early-stage music and entertainment
Investment range: Seed to Series A
Notable investments: Groover, music platforms
Contact: oneragtime.com
29. 70V
Music-focused venture capital firm.
Investment focus: Music technology and services
Investment range: Seed stage
Notable investments: Pibox, music tools
Contact: 70v.com
30. KKR
Global investment firm active in music.
Investment focus: Music companies and catalogs
Investment range: $100M+ deals
Notable investments: BMG, Gibson Brands, HarbourView backing
Contact: kkr.com
Pitching to music industry VCs
For music tech founders
Forget the pitch deck for a second. Here's what actually matters.
Investors want to see artists using your product every day. Not downloading it once and disappearing. Show them weekly active artists, not total signups.
One founder learned this the hard way. Had 50,000 downloads. Sounded great. But only 500 artists used it weekly. No funding.
Another founder showed 5,000 artists uploading daily. Average session: 45 minutes. Funded in 3 weeks.
The difference? Proof people need what you built.
For artists and labels
VCs don't care about your Spotify numbers alone.
They care about momentum. Last month you had 100K streams. This month 300K. Next month projecting 900K. That's a story.
They care about multiple revenue streams. Touring, merch, sync licenses, NFTs. Show them you're a business, not just an artist.
One indie label got investment by showing: 40% revenue from sync, 30% touring, 20% streaming, 10% merch. Diversified. Sustainable.
Getting through the door
Cold emails don't work. Here's what does:
Find someone in their portfolio. Get 15 minutes. If they like you, they'll intro you. This works 10x better than LinkedIn messages.
Warner invested in a startup because another portfolio founder made the intro. The founder said: "These guys solved our biggest problem." Meeting booked same day.
Know your investor type
Sony/Universal/Warner: They want strategic fits. Can this help our artists? Can we distribute it globally?
Silicon Valley VCs: They want the next billion-dollar platform. Show exponential growth potential.
Music specialists: They get the industry's weirdness. You can talk about split sheets and they won't glaze over.
Approaching the wrong type wastes everyone's time. A catalog fund won't invest in your live streaming app. A tech VC won't buy your publishing rights.
Turn music investor interest into actual meetings
See who's really interested
You email 30 music investors. Nothing.
With Ellty:
- Sony Music spent 8 minutes on your metrics = interested
- Warner bounced after 30 seconds = not interested
- Crush Ventures forwarded to 3 partners = very interested
Stop guessing. Start knowing.
Track What Matters
Financial projections get 10 seconds? Too complex.
Artist roster gets 5 minutes? Lead with it. Tech slide skipped? Move it back.
Fix your deck based on data, not hunches.
Protect Your Ideas
Music industry talks. Your deck shouldn't leak.
Set expiration dates. Revoke access anytime. See exactly who has it.
Start tracking your pitch deck
FAQs
How much do music investors typically invest?
Seed: $500K-$2M
Series A: $3M-$10M
Catalog acquisitions: $1M-$100M+
Strategic investments from majors: Varies widely
Which music investors are most active in 2025?
Warner Music Group Ventures, Sony Music Entertainment, Crush Ventures, and Lightspeed (for AI music). Catalog buyers: Hipgnosis/Blackstone, HarbourView.
Do I need music industry experience?
For tech platforms - helps but not required. 30% of funded founders come from outside music. Must show deep understanding of artist/fan problems.
How long does music industry fundraising take?
Tech startups: 3-6 months typical
Catalog deals: 6-12 months due to valuation complexity
Strategic partnerships: 4-8 months
Can international startups get US music investors?
Yes, if US expansion planned. Show clear go-to-market strategy. Many funds invest globally (Index, Antler, Lightspeed).
