Welcoming Splice

Over the past 30 years, software has disrupted the traditional music industry, greatly increasing the amount of content and availability to end consumers. Moving from vinyl to the cassette in the 1960s, to the compact disc and downloadable MP3s and finally to the streaming services of today, technology has continuously increased the amount of content available to consumers on the go while continuing to decrease the cost of access.

However, despite this shift in how consumers engage with music, there has remained only one viable way to be successful as an artist—to sign with a major label. This paradigm was driven by the cost of the old world. It was expensive to record a full band with traditional studio tools. It was expensive to print and manufacture physical media. Distribution required a full major deal with retailers, and marketing required large amounts of spending and promotional relationships.

Over the past five years, technology has drastically reduced these costs for artists, and we’re seeing a new generation of creators who are rising to fame recording their music on laptops, gaining a following on YouTube and SoundCloud, and generating revenue playing live shows or by using services like Bandcamp and Ziibra—before starting to even think about talking to a major label.

Splice is building a toolset and platform for this new group of creators—be it punk rock artists like Jeff Rosenstock, electronic music producer 3LAU or acoustic duo Thee Acquainted—helping them more easily create, collaborate and distribute in an increasingly connected world.

Working alongside professional tools like Ableton Live, Splice starts by solving the tedious process of file management, backup and sample management through understanding the building blocks of a track—its DNA. The platform exposes artists to a world where they are free to manipulate the musical DNA, go back in time, share to a network of creators for collaboration and feedback, and publish directly to fans.

Splice Co-Founders Matt Aimonetti and Steve Martocci have been passionate about (and involved in) music throughout their lives and truly care about empowering the next generation of creators and artists. In addition, they are an exceptionally talented technical team that has impressed us with their ability to execute quickly. We’re incredibly excited to join Union Square Ventures, Lerer Ventures, SV Angel, First Round Capital, Seth Goldstein and others in support of their vision.

Matt and Steve, we’re excited to be a part of your journey. Welcome to True!

Read more about Splice in Business Insider, VentureBeat and XConomy.