The Weeknd has taken a major step in diversifying his portfolio after he reportedly invested in a Chicago-based song creation company, Songfinch.
The information comes from reporting by Music Business Worldwide reports. This is not the first time that the artist has invested in such a big way as he also put in $7 million into his Pepsi Super Bowl LV halftime show in February.
The Weeknd offered up a portion of the $2 million in this new venture as the company entered its seed round. The “Blinding Lights” singer is now listed as a contributor with some other titans in the music business like Atlantic Records CEO Craig Kallman, The Weeknd’s manager/XO Records CEO Wassim “Sal” Slaiby, and School of Rock CEO Rob Price.
Kallman explained why he felt compelled to contribute through a statement. “Songfinch gave me the opportunity to send an extraordinary musical gift that proved so moving and emotional for all the people I sent it to.” He added, “The creativity and impact of this service is truly remarkable and I had no hesitation becoming an investor.”
Josh Kaplan, who co-manages Doja Cat, joined three others to form the company that, if successful, will definitely be a game-changer when it comes to personalized gifts and gift cards. The other co-founders are John Williamson, Rob Lindquist, and Scott Kitun. The personalized songs cost $249 and are made in between three to seven days. So far, they’ve created about 20,000 of them.
Super manager Slaiby also commented on his involvement, “Congratulations to Josh Kaplan and his partners for building an incredible company and business. We’re excited to be a part of it and continue to grow it together.”
According to Songfinch’s website, “Every song we create is based on our customer’s personalized details, submissions, and preferences. Multiple elements are used to create your personalized song to make it the best it can be based on the request and the artist. Every song request is carefully reviewed by our Music Supervision team and assigned to the perfect artist to bring your song to life.”
