Snoop Dogg wanted to go on Instagram Live with Dr. Dre, 50 Cent, Kendrick Lamar and Mary J Blige before the Super Bowl Halftime Show.
It was just hours before the big event, seen by over 103 million people. For reasons that remain unclear, possibly copyright concerns or legal issues, the 50-year-old rapper was denied the chance to livestream with his fellow stars. Instead, he turned to Atlanta social media company Fanbase.
"Ya'll trippin Instagram," Snoop Dogg said in an Instagram post. "I’m going to Fanbase with Isaac Hayes.”
Formerly a record producer, Isaac Hayes III founded Fanbase to provide a social media platform that creators can use to monetize their content. Hayes’ father was the late Isaac Hayes who wrote the hit song “Soul Man." His father was also a musician who lived in a time when many Black creators weren’t credited or compensated for many of the hottest viral trends.
“Songwriters were robbed of their publishing and masters through shady deals that often left artists broke, and it’s still happening every day,” Hayes said. “My father always taught me about the importance of ownership so that was definitely part of why I founded Fanbase.”
Hayes, the company’s CEO, says its customer base has grown exponentially since Snoop Dogg streamed on its platform on Super Bowl Sunday, going from 170,000 users to 250,000. The moment he used Fanbase showed how Fanbase treats its users differently.
The company has recently attracted a number of high-profile celebrities, as more become increasingly frustrated with major social media giant's censorship policy.
“People began to realize how big platforms don’t always put their interests first, even though they’re the reason the apps are extremely successful,” Hayes said. “The moment was pivotal for us because it really highlighted Fanbase’s mission to put creators first.”
Many artists and content creators have raised concerns about large social media platforms randomly "shadowbanning" their posts, meaning that a user’s content has been hidden from other users who don’t follow them making it harder to market. Last year, a popular black Tik Tok user accused the company of being racially biased.
Those events are spurring opportunities for Fanbase.
A few months after declaring that he was taking a break from social media and deactivating his accounts, famous rapper Meek Mill tweeted “Who’s the owner of Fanbase app? These other apps' shadow banning too heavy.”
During an appearance last year on the View, Black Eyed Peas member Will.I.Am was asked about his thoughts on Facebook as someone heavily invested in the tech industry.
The popstar replied “taking advantage of no regulations and no governance while their business model harms safety and privacy … I think this is about time they have to be more mindful of people,”
He continued to say “there’s companies like Fanbase that are doing awesome that provide a different alternative to Instagram … to all those folks who are looking for a different alternative from Instagram, check out Isaac Haye’s.”
Some platforms are getting so large they are having a difficult time monitoring their content, Hayes said.
"It affects users in a blanket way and doesn't give them opportunities,” he said.
The prospect of alternatives to social media giants have caught the attention of the general public and investors. In the first three quarters of 2021, over 100 startups in the creator economy raised $3.7 billion.
Now, after a year of 1,000% user growth without any marketing spending, Fanbase is seizing the opportunity. The company has recently closed a second crowdfunding raise of $2.6 million. It's now raised more than $6 million in crowdfunding with over 8,600 investors.
The funds will be used for marketing, enhancing its platform with improved search and direct messaging capabilities, and growing its customer base.
Hayes said multiple institutional investors have reached out to the company saying they would be interested in investing when the company is ready to raise tens of millions of dollars. Hayes also says that institutional investors wouldn’t change anything about the platform, saying “any investor in the company is investing in the culture and community of the platform.”
Fanbase currently has 40 total employees with a quarter of them based in Atlanta. When the company raises its Series A round, it will look to expand its staff.
