I’m pleased to announce that Encore has been acquired by Mixcloud.
Mixcloud is the global platform for DJs, music producers, and radio communities, and one of the largest DJ streaming platforms in the world with 25 million users.
Exactly 10 years ago, at 6.43pm on the 18th of September 2014, the very first musician registered with Encore. That day also happened to be my 21st birthday, and the thrill of early users signing up to a platform that was barely three weeks old was an incredible gift.
As musicians ourselves, James King and I set out on a mission to help artists make more money doing what they loved, and we’ve achieved more than my wildest dreams over the last decade.
We’ve booked musicians, bands, singers, DJs, full orchestras, and everything in between for over 52,000 events, and provided the live soundtrack to the biggest moments of our customers’ lives.
Our artists have earned over £25 million through Encore, and hundreds of them are earning the majority of their income through our platform. We’ve worked hard to guarantee great fees for our extraordinary performers, and now boast some of the best and fairest gig fees of any platform or agency in the UK.
I’m proud of our sustainability work, which has inspired competitors and permeated throughout the industry. Since August 2021, we’ve offset the carbon emissions of every musician traveling to every Encore gig, and have planted 45,862 trees. That’s a lot of trees!
I’m really excited about Encore’s future with Mixcloud, a platform founded by DJs. The Mixcloud team understands music culture better than anyone else, and have already made an enormous impact on the global music scene. I’ve been a Mixcloud user myself since 2012, and admire the way they’ve grown their business.
The Mixcloud mission aligns closely with ours:
“We exist to help people connect through music”
and they envision “a world where music enthusiasts can connect deeply, beyond the algorithm, human-to-human.”
This resonates with all of us at Encore deeply.
I’m thrilled to share that Nikhil Shah will be joining Encore as Chairman and working alongside me in this next era. Nikhil co-founded Mixcloud back in 2008, and stepped away from the business in 2020. Having him return to Mixcloud is an exciting moment for both the Mixcloud and Encore teams.
I want to say a huge thank you to the hundreds of people who helped bring Encore to life and scaled it into one of the largest marketplaces for booking live musicians on the planet.
Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, to Entrepreneur First, all our investors, past and present teammates, our customers, our musicians, and to everyone who helped us along the way.
We’ve brought so much music and so much joy into the world, and with the Mixcloud team, we’re going to turn up the volume and amplify our impact further.
I’m excited for this next era, and will be continuing as CEO of Encore as we bravely venture into new frontiers with the Mixcloud team.