Kickstarter acquires ailing service Drip.fm, which could signal a renewed music focus

Kickstarter acquires ailing service Drip.fm, which could signal a renewed music focus

Kickstarter has announced the acquisition of ailing music subscription service Drip.fm, saving the service from the imminent shutdown announced in February and due to take place on March 18. 

Drip.fm made its name as a cool digital subscription service for independent labels, allowing users to gain access to all their releases for a flat monthly fee. 

Yancey Strickler, Kickstarter’s co-founder and CEO, made the announcement in a blog post where he stated: “Together we’ll be able to serve creators, creativity and our communities more powerfully. This is just the beginning.” 

Drip.fm will continue to operate as a standalone service, but it is particularly interesting to consider what Kickstarter might do in terms of integrating the service’s offerings with its own platform. Music projects are an important part of Kickstarter, yet the rise of alternative music-focused D2C services like Pledge Music can’t have gone unnoticed at Kickstarter’s HQ. This means that the company could be working on beefing up the music-specific features it offers. 

Existing Drip.fm subscribers saw their fees frozen when the company announced the shutdown, the freeze will remain in place until April 1, when the company plans to start charging again. 

 

(Andrea Leonelli)