Spotter raised the cash in a round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, as the new media space evolves to viewing content rights as a viable asset.
Internet and telecommunications group SoftBank led a $200m series D round for US-headquartered online content financier Spotter on Wednesday through its Vision Fund 2 as the digital media sector continues to evolve.
The round valued Spotter at $1.7bn and included Access Industries, the conglomerate that is majority owner of record company Warner Music Group, in addition to CoVenture, Crossbeam Venture Partners, GPS Investment Partners and HighPost Capital.
Spotter’s business model involves it paying money to content creators and influencers on video streaming platform YouTube who in turn license their videos to the company, in essence helping them remain independent while accessing revenue upfront.
YouTube has become a viable option for large content creators, who receive a cut of the advertising revenue if they are part of its Partner Programme. However, as with music industry royalties, it can take time for those payments to come through, potentially making it trickier to…
