USA, 16th October 2025

The fund provides direct financial support to empower independent labels and distributors in a shifting industry 

beatBread, a leader in funding for independent labels and musicians, has announced the launch of the Global Independence Fund (GIF), a new $100 million fund designed to provide independent labels and distributors with flexible financial support.

beatBread’s Global Independence Fund’s purpose is to ensure that independent music businesses have access to capital on terms that align with their needs, allowing them to grow, compete more effectively to sign new artists, and maintain control of day-to-day decision making. Labels can secure capital against their share of existing catalog, obtain advances to sign new artists, and access additional discretionary funding that supports broader business growth.  The fund is designed to strengthen the independent sector in the face of moves by incumbents to further consolidate their power and influence over artist relationships, and give labels the resources to compete without giving up control.

Additional benefits beyond funding including distribution opportunites, access to OpenPlay delivery technology and other benefits will be made available to labels who are also members of AIM, AIM Ireland, WIN and IMPALA through their various member and friends programs. The launch of the GIF follows on from beatBread’s creation of a label advance partnership with A2IM in the USA, announced in November 2024.

Matthew Tilley, beatBread Head of Artist & Industry Development commented: “For too long, independent labels have had to play by rules set by incumbents, where access to capital comes at the cost of control and the opportunity to sign and support artists is limited by access to capital, even when those distributors or independent labels may otherwise be in the very best position to develop, market and support a given artist. The Global Independence Fund is one element in the ongoing fight to change that.”

Noemi Planas, WIN CEO added: “beatBread has been a long-time supporter of the independent sector.  This new funding initiative will not only offer more access to financing options, it will also provide additional benefits to members of leading independent organization friends programmes. The Global Independence Fund is designed to give independent labels the leverage they need to build sustainable businesses on their own terms, compete with larger corporations and retain independence. The future of music should be shaped by the diversity, creativity, and resilience of independent labels and artists.  Expanding access and choice of funding options helps make that future a reality.”

Labels leveraging the $100M Global Independence Fund will be able to choose their distribution partners, access additional pools of co-investment capital from within beatBread’s Funding Network, and compare multiple funding structures and options using beatBread’s Deal Comparison Tool, which provides an independent, data-driven evaluation of each financing option. By giving labels a clear, like-for-like view of deal structures, potential earnings, and long-term costs, the tool ensures that independent music professionals can choose the right funding options with confidence whether they decide to leverage the capital from the Global Independence Fund and partners within beatBread’s Funding Network or not. 

Independent labels and distributors interested in applying for funding can visit www.beatbread.com/GIF for more information. 

About beatBread
beatBread is a data-driven funding platform that enables artists, songwriters and labels to access growth capital while maintaining ownership and control of their music. beatBread advances funds on existing catalog, as well as new and unreleased music. All artist and publishing advances are repaid from a share of a creator’s streaming and/or publishing revenues – at the clients’ choice and over a period of their choosing. Since its launch in 2020, beatBread has funded artists, songwriters, independent labels and distributors on six continents, with funding amounts ranging from as little as $1000 to $5 million. beatBread also offers a white label platform to independent labels and distributors powered by its chordCashAI™ technology. beatBread has partnered with more than 20 independent distributors and labels, including UnitedMasters and Too Lost Records, allowing independent labels, distributors and artist service companies to provide deeper financial support to their artists, under their own brand and inside their own digital experiences. https://www.beatbread.com/