Warner, Nas, invest in music mastering service

Cloud-based audio mastering platform, LANDR, has raised $6.2 million in its first round of funding from rapper Nas, Warner Music Group, and the Plus Eight Equity Fund, operated by DJs Pete Tong, Richie Hawtin, Tiga and John Acquaviva.

Among these start-up investors also included YUL Ventures and Real Ventures, who had invested previously, and Cirque Du Soleil founders Guy Laliberté and Daniel Gauthier.In a statementNars said,“Technology has allowed for more creators to be birthed. More and more music is being made but certain parts of process don’t have consumer tools to help make fine and crisp finishes."

“I believe LANDR is an affordable, groundbreaking technology to help musicians make music that has a quality finish like any major label artist, with a budget. I’m excited to help the LANDR team take their technology global.”

LANDR, a cloud based post-production platform, automatically masters uploaded audio files. Users are able to select different levels of audio quality based on three paid subscription models. For $6 a month, the Basic plan buys you unlimited low-resolution Mp3s, a $14 per month Advanced plan gives unlimited high-resolution Mp3s, while the Pro subscription delivers unlimited, uncompressed WAV files for $39 a month. A free tier is also available, although this model only offers two low-resolution Mp3s.

“Most musicians and producers craft their songs using GarageBand or some software, but in the end, because they don’t want to spend the money to get it mastered, they never do that post-production step,” said Pascal Pilon, CEO of LANDR.

According to Pilon, both amateur and professional recording artists who want a quick preview of their mastered track use LANDR before spending time and money on a final version.

LANDRhas mastered more than 1.2 million tracks for 250,000 users, thanks to strategic partnerships with TuneCore, CD Baby, InGrooves, and Xiami, Alibaba’s distribution platform in China.

Today, the company also announced the launch of its latest mastering engine, ‘Ionian 1.0’. The new update boasts a redesigned interface, wider genre detection, and tweaks to the corrective EQ, multi-brand compressor, multi-brand stereo enhancer and limiter.

“The new masters are dramatically clearer, bringing more focus to your tracks, with subtle touches of colour and a huge range of dynamics,” LANDR’s site reads.

“Designed by our ever-growing team of visionary tech wizards, the Ionian release marks a massive leap forward, not just for us but for the whole community.”