Mobile Backstage, the interactive fan club service that develops and maintains deep and meaningful relationships between artists and fans, has closed a bridge funding round of € 1,000,000 in April. Investors include Finnvera Ltd, the financing vehicle of the Finnish state, Miston Ltd, a privately owned investment company, management team members, as well as a group of angel investors.
Mobile Backstage intends to use the proceeds to facilitate the growth of the company, further develop its technology, extend its international presence and scale its operations to address growing demand. The company is in the process of opening a new office in San Francisco this summer, in addition to the already established offices in New York, London and Helsinki.
“Our service is a groundbreaking concept that helps artists build and maintain strong and long-lasting relationships with their fans. We believe that a true fan is worth a million listeners. That’s why we created Mobile Backstage. Our new funding will enable us to expand and grow faster”, said Paavo Bäckman, founder and CEO of Mobile Backstage.
In order to support the growth, Mobile Backstage is pleased to announce the addition of Johannes Milén as their new Chief Operating Officer (COO) to its Helsinki office. Former CIO of Rautakesko of Kesko, one of the largest corporations in Finland, Johannes is bringing his expertise and more than 15 years of experience to Mobile Backstage.
“The great atmosphere and attitude of the crew at Mobile Backstage, combined with a unique offering and vast opportunities for business growth, were something that I could not resist, so it was a very easy decision to join the company,” said Johannes.
In the past year, Mobile Backstage end users have generated over 4 million interactions and 100 million page views. The company has created fan clubs for artists such as Jessie J., Tinie Tempah, The Kooks, Devlin, Lykke Li, to name but a few, and works on an on-going basis with the major record labels Universal, EMI, Warner, Sony as well as many independent labels and management companies.