Snapchat Launches ‘Creator Fund’. Snap has officially launched the “Snapchat Sounds Creator Fund. Execs say will provide up to $100,000 in monthly “grants” to indie artists who use DistroKid.

Who is Snap Chat?

Snapchat is a social media app that lets users send pictures and videos that disappear. It also has a feature called "stories" which lets users post pictures and videos that are available for 24 hours. Snapchat was founded in 2011. Since then they have grown to 332 million daily active users worldwide. In 2022 Snapchat Launches ‘Creator Fund’.

Who is Distrokid

Distrokid is a music distributor that enables artists and labels to release their music worldwide.

Music distributors are responsible for getting music out to streaming services. Such as, Spotify and Apple Music and other digital platforms. They work with labels and artists to get their music into the hands of consumers. Distributors typically have a catalogue of millions of songs, which they make available to their partners.

When does the Snapchat Creator fund launch?

Starting in August, Snap will provide monthly grants of up to $100,000 to artists who are distributing via DistroKid. The program is currently capped at 20 songs. Snap says it will provide grants of $5,000 per song to artists. They will do this based on the level of engagement Snapchat users have with the music.

Currently, musicians who are signed with Snap’s music label and publisher partners are eligible. This includes:

• Universal Music Group
• Warner Music Group
• Merlin
• Sony Music Publishing
• Universal Music Publishing Group
• Warner Chappell
• Kobalt

The new Sounds Creator Fund is a separate grant program for any musician. Provided that you have opted into Snap’s deal with DistroKid by granting all rights.

Why Snapchat Launched the ‘Creator Fund’

“Snap wants to help emerging, independent artists produce quality content and build their brands. By recognizing Sounds creators who are driving trends and defining cultural moments. Not just based on their follower numbers,” the company said in announcing the program.

To be eligible for the Snapchat Sounds Creator Fund artists must be based in the U.S. and at least 16 (and where applicable have parental consent).

The company launched Sounds on Snapchat in October 2020, letting users add music to their videos (a la TikTok). Since then, videos created with music from Sounds on Snapchat have collectively resulted in more than 2.7 billion videos created and over 183 billion views, according to the company.

Snap said its music team is “always on the lookout for new licensed music that will drive creative expression through our Sounds products,” based on the relevancy of songs to the Snapchat audience. “Whenever a licensed song is popular and resonating with our audience, it will have the opportunity to be included in relevant playlists in our Sounds creative tool, in a Snapchat Lens or in Spotlight,” per the company’s announcement.

Last week, Snap reported second-quarter 2022 financial results that missed Wall Street’s already-reduced expectations, saying that the growth of advertising demand had “slowed significantly.” Snapchat had 347 million average daily active users in the period, a gain of 15 million sequentially.

In conclusion, Snap says that, with its new fund, it “wants to help independent artists produce quality content. Basically, it wants to help them build their brands. Finally, it will do this by recognizing creators who are driving trends and defining cultural moments. Not just based on their follower numbers”.