Appcompanist, LLC
Company: Appcompanist, LLC (“APP” or “Company”)
Financing Amount: $1,235,000
Financing Structure: $1,235,000
Financing Date: April 3, 2024
About the Company
Appcompanist, LLC is a music technology company that currently serves singers, voice teachers, choir directors, schools, opera companies, and musical theater productions. The Appcompanist app was launched on the App Store in late fall 2017, and has since become the gold standard for repertoire research, practice, and accompaniment in the solo vocal market in the US. The company is now expanding into additional musical genres, the international solo vocal market, and the far larger international choral and complete work market (20x the size of the existing solo market).
Led by founder and owner Darin Adams, Appcompanist looks to provide value to an underserved market post-pandemic. saw groups that were previously resistant to using recorded accompaniment, suddenly having to do so on a regular basis in order to continue their educational and professional activities when access to live accompanists disappeared. The quality of Appcompanist’s recordings and the uniqueness of the patented playback features very quickly vaulted the company to the top of the high-end user market within these groups. Top singers, music schools, voice teachers and music directors all turned to Appcompanist as their choice during the pandemic, and as the industry moved into the post pandemic period, the value of using Appcompanist vs. paying a live pianist or dealing with audio recordings that can’t be controlled during playback had already become ingrained in the top of market, which is still influencing others. Appcompanist became the industry leader in what is now the common practice among musicians – namely incorporating recorded accompaniment into daily practice routines, repertoire searches, lessons, and even performance.
Situation
The company’s near term growth plan is focused on expanding the user base geographically, expanding through additional genres of solo music like jazz and popular, and expanding to parallel markets, like choirs, musical theater and opera productions, and even ballet studios. The beta group of choral directors is extremely enthusiastic about the product and has incorporated it seamlessly into their routines. To address some potential barriers to entry, we are speeding up the content creation process now with new recording methods and additional contracted artists. We are also partnering with choral publishers to prioritize top seller lists over the last 10 years to first hit the music that is already in choir room file cabinets all over the country, as well as working with musical theater licensing organizations to anticipate the most licensed shows that will be in production at regional companies, community theaters and schools in the next two years. We have begun a tech re-build, which coincides with the new commerce system build, that will simplify the way choir directors or musical directors provide free access to part-learning tracks for all of their choristers or cast members as part of their subscription. This will also streamline marketing communication and customer education by aligning the solo and choral versions with one another in terms of purchase flow and use. With both tech and content fast tracked simultaneously, Appcompanist is projecting a Fall 2024 surge in growth from the choral and multi-part products. During this development phase in choral and multi-part, Appcompanist will work to fuel the fire on solo vocal subscription sales as well. The company has just moved from a single stack developer model to a larger and more diverse contract tech development team that can deliver faster, simultaneous development on several of the front facing app features and web-based and backend builds aimed at revenue growth.
Solution
Alantes provided a $1,235,000 Small Business Administration Term Loan in order to facilitate the buyout of an existing partner and to provide additional working capital for the growth initiatives of the business. Positioned at a very optimal time in their expansion phase, Appcompanist was able to close on the funding provided by the team at Alantes, allowing them the flexibility to charge forward with their various business developments.
“I’ve had the pleasure of working with Alantes Corporate Finance, LLC for my recent financing needs, and I couldn’t be happier with the experience. From the initial consultation to the closing of the deal, the team was professional, knowledgeable, and always had my best interests at heart,” said founder Darin Adams.
“The process was seamless and efficient, and they took the time to understand my unique financial situation and goals. They provided our team with tailored solutions that met my needs and helped me achieve my objectives.
I was particularly impressed with their transparency and communication throughout the entire process. They kept me informed every step of the way, ensuring I was comfortable and confident with the decisions being made.”
About Alantes
Alantes Corporate Finance (“Alantes”) specializes in capital raises and strategic advisory for small to middle market businesses across the nation. Our team prides itself on our ability to provide unique solutions for all of your business needs. Whether you’re looking to acquire a new company or additional working capital for operations, Alantes is your trusted source for business growth and expansion. Our multi-faceted approach allows us to craft creative solutions that adds value at the most critical junctures so you can focus your resources on core business activities.
For more information on this transaction, contact Alantes Corporate Finance at info@alantes.com
Alantes Corporate Finance, LLC
234 5th Avenue, 2nd Fl
New York, NY 10001
www.alantes.com
