Splice (platform)

Splice is a cloud-based music creation and collaboration platform which includes a sample library, audio plug-ins on a subscription basis, integrates with key digital audio workstations (DAWs) to offer automated online backup with version control, online and offline collaboration as well as visualization of the creation process.^[1][2]

The site and the Mac application were launched in private beta in October 2013. A Windows version was released a few months later and the service became available to all in September 2014.^[3][4] In November 2019, Splice introduced a mobile version of its app on iOS and Android.

Its sample marketplace, Splice Sounds, was launched in 2015. In 2018, Zedd & Grey's single "The Middle" (feat. Maren Morris) featured sounds from Grey's Singular Sounds sample label. The song was nominated for three Grammy Awards and was certified 3x Platinum by the RIAA in 2019. Other notable Top 40 hits to feature Splice samples include Ariana Grande's “Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored,” Lil Nas X's “Panini,” Dua Lipa's “Don’t Start Now,” Bad Bunny's “Dakiti” and Shane Codd's "Get Out My Head".

In February 2020, the song "Running Over" from Justin Bieber's album Changes was released. The song's production prompted musician Asher Monroe to accuse Bieber of stealing the melody from his 2019 song "Synergy". As UK producer Laxcity pointed out on Twitter, both songs featured the same sound from a sample pack he released on Splice, which Bieber's producers The Audibles downloaded and used on "Starting Over". Bieber then tweeted at Laxcity, "Thanks... you are now a part of it".^[5] The Verge, in recapping the back-and-forth, wrote a story with the headline, "Justin Bieber was accused of stealing a melody, but it’s actually a royalty-free sample you can buy online".^[6]

In 2020 Splice launched the inaugural Splice Awards,^[7] recognizing artists in multiple categories, including "Splice Producer of the Year", "Splice Breakout Artist of the Year", "Splice New Standard", "Best Use of Splice Sounds" and "Best Sound Design". The Awards^[8] also recognized Splice's "Most Downloaded One Shot", "Most Downloaded Loop", "Most Downloaded Pack & Vocal Pack" and gave special mention to pack creators with more than 1 Million or 500K downloads.

Funding[]

In October 2013, Splice raised $2.75 million in a seed funding round led by Union Square Ventures with participation from True Ventures, Lerer Ventures, SV Angel, First Round Capital, Code Advisors, Rob Wiesenthal, David Tisch and Seth Goldstein. Splice raised an additional $4.5 in funding from a Series A round led by True Ventures with participation from Scooter Braun, Tiësto, Steve Angello, AM Only, WME, Plus Eight Equity Fund LP and existing investors including Union Square Ventures in 2014. Splice raised $35 million in a Series B round of funding led by Draper Fisher Jurvetson in 2017. A$57.7 million Series C round followed in 2019, co-led by Union Square Ventures and True Ventures with participation from DFJ Growth, Flybridge, Lerer Hippeau, LionTree, Founders Circle Capital and Matt Pincus. In February 2021, Splice raised a $55 million series D round led by Goldman Sachs, with additional participation from the venture firm Music. The latest round brought the company's total funding to more than $150 million and estimated valuation to nearly $500 million.

Services[]

Splice's first product at launch in 2013 was Studio, which allowed musicians to remotely collaborate through the cloud. The technology is compatible with leading digital audio workstations (DAW) programs including Ableton Live, Logic Pro X, FL Studio, Garageband, and Studio One.

In 2016, Splice introduced Rent-To-Own, which allowed users to pay a monthly fee to access premium products like synths. The model enabled users to put their rental balance toward the ownership cost and own the product outright or move on to a new program without paying the full market price. The Rent-To-Own program expanded in 2017 to products like Ozone 8 and Neutron 2, prompting The Verge to proclaim: "Splice is making it much easier to buy expensive music production plugins".^[9]

In 2019, Splice launched its proprietary AI-driven feature Similar Sounds,^[10] giving users machine-learning based similarity search across the entire marketplace of audio samples.

In June 2021, Splice launched Skills and Connected Instruments with their new Creator Plans.^[11]

References[]