Music creation and collaboration platform Splice announced last week it has raised $35 million in Series B funding, bringing its total raised since 2013 to $47 million. The Series B funding round was led by DFJ Growth, along with previous investors True Ventures, Union Square Ventures and Flybridge. Splice said it will use the new funding to expand its team, improve its core suite of creator tools and gear offerings, and better integrate with the creative process of musicians.

‘Splice is leading a transformation in the way people make music,’ said Randy Glein of DFJ. ‘We realize the impact Splice has on the music industry, and with the funding, we are accelerating their vision to enhancing their platform for today’s music creators.’

Splice was founded by developer Steve Martocci and sound engineer Matt Aimonetti to change how musicians create music and collaborate, to provide additional creative tools, and to create revenue opportunities for musicians beyond traditional ticket sales, licensing and streaming revenue. To date, the company has paid out $5 million to creators who use their platform to distribute sounds in Splice’s sample library, Splice Sounds. The company said it has seen a 324 percent increase in payouts to artists year-over-year, and its global community includes more than 1 million musicians and artists.

‘Our mission is simple: to help musicians maximize their potential,’ said CEO and co-founder Martocci in a statement. ‘Our vision is big: to transform the way musicians create and collaborate, to foster a culture of openness in music, and to uncover new revenue streams for artists through artist-to-artist marketplaces.’

Splice launched the sample library two years ago, and it now contains more than 2 million royalty-free samples, including sounds used by award-winning musicians to create hit songs, like Demi Lovato’s ‘Sorry Not Sorry,’ on the Billboard Hot 100. To use the royalty-free sample library, musicians subscribe to the service, starting at $7.99 a month.

In a December 14 blog post, Splice explains why its $5 million milestone is important.

‘This milestone is one we’re celebrating with you: the producers, sound designers, songwriters and composers who use Splice Sounds to do what we love. Every sample you download from Splice Sounds supports the musician who made it. Together, we’re creating more seats at the table in music. Thanks to you, there are artists whose revenue from Splice has enabled them to quit their day jobs and pursue their dream: making music full time,’ Martocci and Aimonetti wrote.

Insider Take:

For an industry that is struggling to find a viable model, Splice is an exciting platform for artists to grow a community in which to create, collaborate and earn money. We love the innovation, of course, but we also love that the subscription to the Sounds library makes sound samples accessible even to artists on a budget who are looking for that ‘just right’ sample to insert into a song. Splice is putting artists and their music first and have found a way to support them along the way.