The Deals: Korn’s Brian ‘Head’ Welch Invests in Mental Health Center; Web3 Platform Tune.FM Raises $20M

Korn guitarist Brian “Head” Welch has invested in Atlantic Behavioral Health, a new mental health treatment center serving Massachusetts and New Hampshire. The center focuses on anxiety, depression and other mental health disorders, combining individual therapy, group therapy and medication management. “Partnering with Atlantic is so personal to me and not just another business to invest in,” said Welch in a statement. “I know what it feels like to live at the bottom of a dark pit, but I also know if you put in the work, the light will come back on, and Atlantic is going to help so many people find that light switch.”

Tune.FM, a Web3 decentralized music streaming platform with an integrated music NFT marketplace, received $20 million in funding from investment group LDA Capital. Tune.FM allows artists to monetize their fanbases through streaming royalty micropayments and digital music collectibles with exclusive unlockable experiences powered by the JAM token ($JAM) using Hedera Hashgraph distributed ledger technology. Tune.FM will use the funds to grow its user base, expand its development team, launch new products and increase liquidity for the JAM token internationally.

iHeartMedia has formed a strategic collaboration with Zigazoo Kids, which encompasses social networks Zigazoo (for children 13 and up) and Zigazoo Kids (for children under 13). Under the deal, the companies will explore opportunities between iHeartMedia’s portfolio of music and podcasts and Zigazoo’s content. iHeartMedia will additionally launch a national, multi-million-dollar campaign across its multiplatform audio network to stoke further awareness of Zigazoo’s social networks.

Independent radio promotions firms Your Army and Strange Loop Promo have merged. Under the deal, both companies will now operate under the Your Army banner out of offices in L.A., New York and Vancouver, Canada.

The U.K. office of Believe has signed a long-term label solutions partnership with Mahogany, the global multi-platform music brand behind the Mahogany Sessions YouTube channel. Under the agreement, Mahogany will handle global distribution for Mahogany’s label, Mahogany Records, along with its video platforms Mahogany Sessions, COVERS and Lagoon. Mahogany will additionally work with Believe’s audience development team to develop the global reach of its imprints across established and developing markets and expand their content into new territories, genres and audio-visual formats. Forthcoming plans include the public launch of Mahogany’s bespoke digital distribution service, Mahogany Songs.

Sony Music Masterworks has formed a strategic venture with London-based live entertainment company Roast Productions. Operating internationally, Roast Productions produces theater, concerts and family entertainment events. Founders Bonnie Royal and Michael Stevens will continue leading Roast’s day-to-day operations while partnering with Masterworks on developing a range of new productions. They will work closely with Masterworks president Mark Cavell and Ollie Rosenblatt, founder/CEO of U.K.-based producer/promoter Senbla.

Comedy festival SF Sketchfest has partnered with livestreaming platform Veeps to stream five of its featured shows exclusively on the platform between Jan. 21 and Feb. 4. The shows to be livestreamed are: Triumph the Insult Comic Dog’s Let’s Make A Poop!, Kids in the Hall: Scenes They Wouldn’t Let Us Do, Varietopia with Paul F. Tompkins, Hello From Magic Tavern and The Trav-enture Zone: A Night of Dungeons & Dragons & Also Comedians. The Kids in the Hall and Tompkins shows will only stream live; the others will be available to replay for 48 hours.

ASM Global has announced a new naming rights partnership with Strawberry Hotel Group that begins in July. Under the deal, ASM will rename the former Friends Arena in Stockholm, Sweden, to Strawberry Arena.

Artelize — a platform that uses artificial intelligence to collect information about concerts and events in opera, classical music, ballet and dance, musicals, spoken theater and jazz, allowing artists and producers to quickly create posts that promote their upcoming events — has closed a pre-seed funding round of €1 million ($1.09 million) led by Bjørn Bruun, founder of Danish fashion brand Bruuns Bazaar, along with other angel investors. Based in Copenhagen, Denmark, Artelize also received a government grant from the Danish Innobooster Programme and a loan facility from the Danish Export and Investment fund as part of the round. The funding will allow Artelize, which is mainly focused on the U.S. market, to expand into the United Kingdom and Europe.

ADA Italy has signed a distribution deal with LaTarma Records. Founded by Marta Donà, LaTarma’s roster includes Ale, Giovanni Toscano, Dolcedormire, Matteo Crea and Angelina Mango.

Production music company ALIBI Music has signed Cadence Music Group as its new synch agent for Canada.