The traditional record label model isn’t artist-friendly. That’s not a secret to anyone by now. Deals are notoriously long and feature a revenue split heavily tilted toward the label — not the artist. But an ambitious alternative has arisen in the last few years. Meet indify, a start-up co-founded by musician prettyboyshav (real name; Shav Garg) and his two childhood best friends, Matthew Pavia and Connor Lawrence.

Indify is a platform that connects investors with up-and-coming artists. Investors can not only financially back artists, but also mentor them in matters like legal or marketing. But unlike a record deal, investments can be as short as a song-per-song basis. As prettyboyshav told me, it’s like “going on dates instead of marrying.”

As an artist himself with millions of streams to his name, Prettyboyshav is specially equipped to carry out indify’s vision — to create a more equitable, prosperous music industry. Indify was originally a music discovery tool when it launched in 2015. Using an algorithm, it identified emerging artists on the cusp of “blowing up” like Khaled, who the tool flagged way back in 2015. That technology still underpins its new business pivot as the “AngelList for the music industry.”

To get a glimpse into indify’s innovative technology and mission, listen to my full interview with prettyboyshav. We covered a lot of topics, including the ones below:

1:25 indify’s Mission In The Music Industry
3:14 Why Artists Are Taken Advantage Of So Often
4:44 What Does indify Look For In Investors Wanting To Join The Platform?
9:42 The Potential For Culture-Setters To Financially Back An Emerging Artist
12:32 indify Vs. Record Labels
17:38 Is There A Glass Ceiling On Artists Who Don’t Sign With A Record Label?
22:53 Does Indify Do Upfront Money Deals?
26:51 Principles That Guard Indify’s Technology
28:44 indify Having Web 3.0 Values Despite Being Off-Chain
33:23 How prettyboyshav Juggles His Music Career And Being Start-Up Founder
37:37 What’s Next For indify?

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