Clique Apps has launched, giving each artist and creator their own standalone mobile app.
Rather than a profile inside an existing marketplace such as Patreon or FanFix, each Clique app lives independently under the creator’s own name in the App Store.
The company is based in Los Angeles and launched on July 29.
It was founded by Cody Blake, Matthew Esposito and Peter Bunetta.
Clique‘s pitch is that a creator’s fan base should belong to the creator, not to the platform it is built on.
Cody Blake, co-founder and CEO of Clique Apps, said: “When someone searches for their favorite creator in the App Store, they shouldn’t discover another platform. They should discover that creator.”
“We believe the creator should always be the brand,” Blake added.
“We believe the creator should always be the brand.”
Cody Blake, Clique Apps
Matthew Esposito, co-founder and CMO of Clique Apps, said: “Creators have spent years building audiences on platforms they don’t own.”
“We believe the strongest fan relationships should belong to creators, not platforms,” Esposito added.
When an artist signs on, Clique designs and builds their app, then hands over a finished, branded product in about a week.
“We believe the strongest fan relationships should belong to creators, not platforms.”
Matthew Esposito, Clique Apps
Each Clique app runs on a modular dashboard, where artists can toggle features such as content, community tools, direct fan messaging, monetization and ticketing on or off.
Because every app runs on the same underlying system, Clique can roll them out to new artists without building each one from scratch.
Clique‘s first partners are dancer GiaNina, Warner Records artist Alex Sampson and pop artist Leah Kate.
GiaNina, known for the reality series Dance Moms, used Clique‘s ticketing tools to run a sold-out international dance tour.
Alex Sampson used his app to livestream a headline show in Canada exclusively for subscribers.
Leah Kate has used hers across a headline tour, letting fans upload their own concert photos and videos, buy merchandise and stay connected.
Clique remains invite-only as it builds more apps for artists and creators.
Clique is launching into a market increasingly focused on the value of direct artist-fan relationships, and the data behind them.
According to a recent Music in the Air report from Goldman Sachs, better monetization of superfans could unlock a USD $4.3 billion annual revenue opportunity, based on the assumption that 20% of paying subscribers are superfans who would spend twice as much as the average listener.
That estimate draws on Luminate data showing superfans spend 66% more on live music than the average listener, and twice as much on physical releases.
In a separate Luminate study commissioned by Meta, Jaime Marconette, Luminate’s VP of Music Insights and Industry Relations, called superfans “the primary drivers of the modern music economy.”
The majors are chasing the same relationship, with Warner Music Group building its own superfan app.
WMG CEO Robert Kyncl has said the company is “focused on making sure that artists get data on these superfans.”
Clique‘s three founders bring backgrounds spanning technology, marketing and music.
Cody Blake spent two decades building liquidfish, a technology and creative agency that has produced software and commerce platforms for Fortune 500 companies and figures including Kevin Durant and Bryson DeChambeau.
Matthew Esposito has worked in marketing and strategy across creator agencies, Warner Records and Sony Music Entertainment, on campaigns for artists including Teddy Swims and Jessie Murph.
Peter Bunetta has five decades in the music industry, having written, produced and recorded with artists including Smokey Robinson, The Temptations and Donna Summer.
He also co-founded Family Affair Productions, a founding partner of Big Family Music, whose creative community has worked with artists including Harry Styles, Sabrina Carpenter and Gracie Abrams.
For Clique, the stated aim is to build infrastructure for creators to connect directly with their audiences, not simply to create another place for fans to follow.Music Business Worldwide
