We recently did a story on Ilias and Tapped Ai, and we wanted to touch base with them again. The thing is they are building something super exciting, and that is rare when it comes to these tech companies. A lot of companies are boring and run by tech snobs who went to an ivy school. But with Tapped, you can tell there is a company culture even if their strategy isn’t fully fledged out.
Now, Tapped Ai isn’t your run-of-the-mill music label. They charge a $50 monthly subscription, don’t take any hidden fees, and don’t take any percentage of your music. Founded by Ilias Anwar and Johannes Naylor, this dynamic duo had a vision: give artists their control, and let them focus solely on their music. They believe by creating a company in favor of artists, and not in favor of music execs they can win big.
So, what is their company’s X factor? Artificial Intelligence, or as they call it, Ai. But hold on, this isn’t robots making music; it’s about using Ai to help artists. Picture this: You get a whole squad of a manager, A&R specialist, marketer, designer, publicist, stylist, and even a lawyer – all in your corner. Tapped Ai claims they will be the go to tool suite created for musicians to help them build a better online presence, and market their music.
You might be wondering how a company like this can be profitable. Well, they are investing in their long term vision because of the scalability of their company. In the public eye, they are an Ai record label but in reality they are a SaaS platform. So, if hypothetically 80,000 people were to sign up for their label tomorrow they would be able to handle it. Whereas, a traditional record label would not have the proper manpower to handle that type of volume. The good thing about this, is that all artists will be able to get equal attention. Whereas in traditional record labels, a lot of artists get shelved. Don’t you worry though, labels can also buy this technology to give attention to their ignored artists. Alongside, independent artists have this as an option so they don’t need a label.
Just a week and a half ago, they posted a picture of their billboard in Times Square and it got over 150,000 views on all socials. Their waitlist started filling up like crazy and they have over 130 artists who are already willing to pay them $50 a month. Johannes and Ilias have decided to take it slow as the technology is in beta so they have only offered it to their first 15 artists like Frankie Biggz, Fe_lie The God, Rein, ManiDaBrat, Niral Desai, Infamou$ G, Rein, Avid Shotz, Davy HBF, Rysovalid, Andrew Rolk, Jay?Duhhh, Yung Smilez, Maria Alexa, and Seelife.
Next month, they’re scaling up to sign 100 artists and will have the Marketer, SM Manager, and Graphic designer available. By the end of the year, they will have 1000 artists, and have their publicist, stylist, and lawyer positions available. And speaking of big partnerships, Tapped Ai is teaming up with Celestine from Drake’s crew, the genius behind Playmakrs Entertainment. This partnership means artists on Tapped Ai’s premium package can get distribution and access to a dedicated manager. For the artists, who have a bigger platform and want a bit more attention alongside some human involvement.
Right now, the biggest record label in the world has 1000 artists and that is held by Universal Music Group. With this new model they have created, Tapped Ai could have more artists than Universal by the end of the year. These kids are sharp, and I am excited to keep up with their story and see where they are at in a couple of months. To find out more about them check out their website www.tapped.ai
