Verswire funding

Photo Credit: Verswire (Sherry Saeedi)

Verswire has announced their forthcoming publishing arm set to launch in 2024 in partnership with Kobalt Music Group.

Verswire was launched in spring 2022 as a VC model alternative for signing artists, shepherded by Sherry Saeedi, Mark Hoppus, Nick Lippman, and Pete Wentz. The company recently raised $12.3 million in Seed and Series A investment, led by E.O.A. Productions and idobi Radio. Participating investors include Kevin Lyman and Gus Brandt.

The company says its new publishing arm and this substantial funding round will “usher in the next phase of Verswire as we continue growing our roster of artists and bolster the services and individual investments we dedicate to them.” So what’s next up for Verswire?

The alt-rock duo Girlfriends (Travis Mills & Nick Gross) have joined the record label roster today, marking the company’s second artist signing. “We’re ecstatic to celebrate our second year as a company with the singing of Girlfriends, and cannot wait to do incredible things together in 2024 and beyond,” adds Saeedi about the signing.

The news comes on the heels of the breakout success story of Beauty School Dropout, Verswire’s debut record label signee. Since last year, the renegade pop band has grown their streams from four million to over fifty million—Spotify streams up 600% and Apple Music streams up 400%.

Verswire is led by artists for artists and adopts a shark tank ideology to act as a venture capital fund for artists as entrepreneurs, tailoring each with a custom investment that includes funding, resources, tools, A-list mentoring, support from prominent music executives, and an ecosystem to own and operate their businesses while allowing them to keep majority ownership of their masters.

Serving as a development incubator that both emerging and established artists alike can call home, the company brings a modernized alternative to the music industry.