Kesha discusses the motivations behind her latest platform for artists: "Balancing the scales of power"
Kesha, a 38-year-old music star, has launched a new platform aimed at rebalancing power in the music industry. Dubbed Smash, the community-centered platform is set to empower creators by providing them with a secure environment to collaborate and retain ownership of their work.
In an interview with Wired, Kesha revealed that she serves as the platform's CEO, collaborating with Chief Technical Officer (CTO) Alan Cannistraro, Chief Operating Officer (COO) Lagan Sebert, and a team of music industry and tech veterans.
Kesha's vision for Smash revolves around ensuring creators have the freedom to make music without fear of predatory deals. She expressed her motivation by referencing her own past struggles, stating, "I signed a predatory deal when I was 18 and then spent more than a decade fighting to regain rights to my voice and image."
Smash is designed as a space where artists can connect, collaborate, and hire each other without worrying about the common industry barriers. It offers a marketplace for these connections and includes features for remote collaboration and contracting.
The platform aims to embody a Fiverr-style marketplace specifically tailored for music creators, coupled with the community-building aspects of LinkedIn. It seeks to revolutionize the way music is made by putting creators in the driver's seat.
Kesha's goal is to establish Smash as a platform where artists and music makers can collaborate freely, retain all rights to their work, and access a professional community without the need for gatekeeping or struggle.
Kesha's new platform, Smash, is not only a community-centered marketplace for music creators, echoing Fiverr's model, but also integrates LinkedIn-style community-building features. As the CEO of Smash, Kesha aims to combine business and entertainment, offering musicians a secure environment to collaborate and maintain ownership of their work, addressing the issues she faced in the past with predatory deals in the music industry.
