Trolley Scores $23M Series B, Targets Music Industry Expansions

Canadan fintech Trolley has announced a $23 million Series B and doubled down on plans “to transform music industry payouts.”

Toronto-headquartered Trolley formally disclosed the multimillion-dollar raise today, after adding SoundCloud swear Hopeless Records to its growing list of partners earlier in 2024. Boston's B2B-focused Wavecrest Growth Partners led the Series B, which also drew participation from existing backer Pace Capital.

Looking ahead to the remainder of 2024 as well as the new year, Trolley intends to use the growth equity funding to expand its market reach and “enhance its platform to better serve the music industry,” according to the nearly decade-old company.

These enhancements will pertain specifically to the industry, the Downtown- and Songtradr-partnered business emphasized. That includes “advanced ID verification” and “comprehensive artist profiles” for the Trust identity-confirmation and risk-management product – besides additional support for the integration of “various royalty calculators.”

Also forthcoming is an effort to increase “the scalability of workflows to support music businesses of all sizes,” per Trolley, which, owing to a “three-year growth rate of 484%,” made its way onto Deloitte's “Technology Fast 50” list for the second year running in 2024.

“Securing this funding is a significant milestone for Trolley,” weighed in founder and CEO Tim Nixon, whose company is said to process payouts to over 210 countries and territories across the music sector, the content-creation space, and more. “The music industry has been at the heart of what we do, and this funding allows us to double down on our commitment to support artists and music businesses globally.

“We're dedicated to bridging gaps left by existing solutions, ensuring our platform remains the most trusted and capable on the market,” Nixon proceeded. “This funding will enable us to further develop our platform, equipping businesses to manage payouts seamlessly across borders, providing creators, artists, on-demand workers, and suppliers with reliable, compliant access to the global market.”

As highlighted, 2024 has delivered several new industry tie-ups for Trolley – the most recent being a late-October union with Distro Nation. According to Live Nation vet Jon Baltz, co-founder and CEO of Distro Nation, the pact is enabling his company “to pay artists a week earlier than before, and the process has never been smoother.”