Livestreaming platform Maestro raises $15 million

By Emmanuel Legrand

Interactive livestreaming platform Maestro has raised $15 million through a Series B funding round led by investors such as NetEase, Sony Music Entertainment, Acronym Venture Capital, Stadia Ventures, Twitch Co-Founder Kevin Lin and former Blizzard Entertainment executives Michael and Amy Morhaime.

  Maestro has raised a total of $22m to date. The company said that its Series B capital "will fuel value chain expansion of its products and continued diversification of its customer base."

  “We are pleased to be supporting the continued development of Maestro as part of our ongoing investment in new technologies that provide artists with cutting-edge tools and solutions for growing their careers. Maestro gives artists greater flexibility and control to build the most engaging and customized events for their fans, allowing creators at any stage of their career to put together a world class live stream event,” said Dennis Kooker, President, Global Digital Business and US Sales at Sony Music Entertainment.

Meaningful digital experiences

  Without providing detailed figures, Maestro said it "more than tripled revenue in 2020, grew its team fivefold in the last six months, and paid out millions of dollars to creators since the launch of its monetisation tools in May."

  The company added: "Amidst the rapid acceleration of streaming due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Maestro’s interactive video platform has been at the forefront, offering creators and content owners ways to build and grow businesses through meaningful digital experiences and modern monetisation strategies like pay-per-view, subscriptions, and ecommerce.

  Ari Evans, Founder and CEO of Maestro, said: “We are witnessing one of the most significant economic shifts in history; a transition from the industrial revolution--produce your widget as cheaply as possible and distribute it as far and wide as you can--to a new model that is essentially the inverse: find your core audience and monetise them effectively and you can do what you love for the rest of your life."