Photo Credit: Bridger Scott
Audio Up raises another $10 million in a series C funding round focusing on music and podcast expansion.
Rapidly-growing media company Audio Up has announced the initial closing of its Series C funding round, which raised another $10 million. The company has raised over $20 million, with a $150 million pre-money evaluation.
“We have achieved an incredible amount in a very short time frame,” says Audio Up founder and CEO Jared Gutstadt (pictured center). “Having our business organized around a small group of elite media companies and entertainment luminaries allows us to grow in a way few can match.”
Launched in 2020, Audio Up has made a name for itself by unlocking original music in its podcast properties, helping pave the way for how consumers discover new music. Among the latest round’s top investors was Ben Lurie, who will also join the company’s board.
“Jared is an incredible visionary in the media space, and I’m betting on his leadership,” says Lurie.
The company’s combined Series A and B fundraising in the fall of 2021 featured a list of high-profile investors, including The Weeknd, Wassim “Sal” Slaiby, Larry Rudolph, Entertainment One’s CEO Darren Throop, producer Will Ward, and Howard Draft, as well as top media entities like SiriusXM, MGM-Amazon, Primary Wave, and Reservoir Media.
Audio Up’s funding will continue to ramp up the music side of the business, further building the company’s joint venture with Universal Music Publishing Group that launched earlier this year. In 2023, the company’s top objectives include strengthening its vertical integration strategy by building new studios and post-production facilities in Nashville to complement its Los Angeles-based operations, which include the Brentwood Audio Chateau.
Dubbed Audio Chateau South, the Nashville location will become an outpost for podcast and music creators, including collaborators like Miranda Lambert, Florida Georgia Line’s Brian Kelley, Breland, Willie Jones, Scarlett Burke, and Elle King, with many more to be announced in 2023.
Additionally, the Series C funding will aid in the creation of new podcasts, music, and other audio content. Other artists Audio Up has collaborated with include Nas, Machine Gun Kelly, 24kGoldn, Iann Dior, Maejor, Nile Rodgers, Nessa Barrett, Travis Barker, Trippie Redd, and Poo Bear.
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