Metallica-Backed Medallion Secures $13.7M in Series A Funding

A Series A funding round was participated in by the family investment firm of rock band Metallica for the artist-to-fan platform Medallion, whose mission is to assist artists in establishing relationships with their followers.

Black Squirrel Partners, established in 2020 by former Metallica members, was among the numerous supporters of the initiative spearheaded by Dragonfly and Lightspeed Faction.

Coinbase Ventures, Infinite Capital, J17, The Chernin Group, Third Prime, and Zeal Capital are among the additional investors.

Matt Jones, the former CEO of Songkick, is at the helm of Medallion, a direct-to-consumer platform whose mission is to strengthen artist-fan relationships. $13.7 million was secured by the venture, as reported by Billboard.

Other music industry veterans participated in the venture round alongside Metallica, including Bill Silva Entertainment, Guy Lawrence of Disclosure, Foundations Artist Management, Jungle, Mt. Joy, Method, Tiga James Sontag, and TAG Music.

In 2023, Metallica has undertaken three noteworthy ventures via Black Squirrel, the most recent being acquisitions in March. In August, the firm additionally participated in a $5 million funding round for Word Collections.

The platform developed by Medallion enables artists and their followers to engage in digitally native interactions and white-label fan experiences. The funds are intended to accelerate the organization’s ambitious technical roadmap.

Medallion, an organization comprised of industry veterans from Songkick, Instagram, YouTube, and more, tackles the issue of artists having direct connections with a minuscule portion of their fanbase. The platform aims to facilitate direct connections between artists and fans.

With a proven history of creating innovative technologies for prominent artists, the Medallion team has garnered backing from enthusiastic investors anxious to contribute to their endeavors.

Before this, Medallion had obtained $9 million in venture funding from prominent investors such as Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park and Tycho, Betaworks, POAP Ventures, Polygon Ventures, The Chernin Group, and Red Light Ventures.

Metallica cautioned its supporters in December 2022 regarding cryptocurrency schemes that had surfaced before the release of its highly anticipated new album, 72 Seasons.

Scammers have targeted the band, renowned for its groundbreaking applications of technology and cryptocurrency, to capitalize on the anticipation surrounding the album’s release and the band’s impending tour.

Metallica warned its supporters in a December 6 tweet to exercise caution regarding cryptocurrency giveaway scams. The band has personal experience with the difficulties associated with dealing with con artists, having fallen victim to such deception in the past.

Scammers have been employing social media impersonation to entice unsuspecting supporters into fraudulent schemes by using the band’s name and forthcoming album as bait.

Scammers also utilized the band’s name and the title of the album to create illegitimate YouTube live broadcasts in an attempt to deceive fans into scanning a QR code that leads to bogus cryptocurrency giveaways.

The purpose of these scams is to exploit the enthusiasm of the band’s supporters regarding the album and upcoming tour.