un:hurd closes seven-figure round to launch attribution engine, Android app
This article covers un:hurd, a London-based music-marketing startup, closing a new seven-figure funding round in pounds sterling led by a mix of existing and new investors. The capital will fund product expansion, an Android app launch and the public roll-out of a statistical attribution engine intended to help independent artists and labels make more data-driven marketing decisions.
un:hurd music, a London-based music-marketing startup, has closed a new seven-figure funding round in pounds sterling led by a mix of existing and new investors. Backers include reinvestments from Willard Ahdritz (founder & chairman of Kobalt Music), Dan Runcie (Trapital), Hazel Savage and Leansquare VC, alongside new entrants such as Mindset Ventures Music Tech. The capital will bankroll product expansion, an Android app launch and the public roll-out of an attribution engine the company says will change how artists measure and decide on marketing spend.
Who backed the round — established names and new players
The round brings together a range of industry and music-tech investors rather than a single lead VC. High-profile reinvestors include Willard Ahdritz, whose Kobalt background gives the deal particular credibility in music rights and infrastructure circles. Media and music commentator Dan Runcie and music industry operator Hazel Savage also participated. Leansquare VC, previously active in experience- and marketplace-focused deals, and Mindset Ventures Music Tech join as new backers.
In the announcement, a spokesperson for Leansquare VC said:
‘unhurd perfectly aligns with Leansquare’s investment thesis, which focuses on companies innovating within the experience economy. We’re excited to back a founder with deep industry knowledge and a clear vision for the future of music marketing. The strength of the product, the quality of the investor syndicate, and the company’s strong growth potential make Unhurd a standout opportunity in the music tech space.’
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Why it matters — attribution and marketing advances for artists
un:hurd positions itself as a data-first alternative to traditional music marketing agencies. The funding is earmarked for several product priorities, chief among them the public launch of a statistical attribution engine the firm has been developing for two years. According to un:hurd, the engine is trained on the career arcs of tens of thousands of artists and will produce explanations for metric shifts and personalised “next-best actions” so artist teams can spend less time guessing and more time amplifying effective tactics.
In the announcement, Brees, a spokesperson for un:hurd music, said:
“The team have spent the last two years working intently on building proprietary statistical models which reduce uncertainty for artists when it comes to music marketing decisions. The beating heart of our business has always been how we leverage data to help artists and labels make smarter decisions and this is about to become exponentially more powerful and scalable.”
Inside the product — tools and a new Artist Deals vertical
un:hurd’s platform already offers automated advertising across Spotify, TikTok, YouTube and Meta, along with data-led playlist pitching, a release cycle builder and AI content-generation tools. The company has added an Artist Deals vertical that provides marketing advances to a select group of artists identified by its technology as “high potential.” The combination of advance financing and data-driven prompts is aimed at shortening the runway between release and growth milestones for independent artists.
Platform reach and partnerships
The company says its community now exceeds 185,000 artists and labels. To broaden reach, un:hurd has announced partnerships with distribution and discovery platforms Amuse, KOSIGN and Bandsintown, which it expects will open channels to “hundreds of thousands” of additional artists through the rest of 2025. The startup is also launching an Android version of its app on Google Play in November, completing device availability for major mobile platforms.
Track record — campaigns that underpin credibility
un:hurd points to recent campaigns as evidence of product-market fit. Its work this year includes promotion for The K’s UK number one album, a global re-launch for Tinie Tempah, and marketing for Future Utopia, the artist project of producer Fraser T Smith. These examples are presented as demonstrations of the platform’s capacity to operate at both commercial and creative scale across domestic and international markets.
The bigger picture — music tech, creator economies and UK venture
The deal reflects sustained investor interest in music-tech startups that offer data and monetisation solutions for independent creators. As streaming revenue pools remain dominated by a handful of major artists and labels, tools that can deliver measurable returns and provide financing to emerging acts have a clear market logic. For the UK and European ecosystem, un:hurd’s round is a reminder that specialised vertical platforms — combining product, data science and finance — continue to attract syndicates that mix industry operators and VCs.
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