With Her App Smash, Kesha Can Be Whoever She Wants – Even A Tech Ceo

Kesha – yes, brush my teeth pinch a vessel of Jack Kesha – is now a startup founder. But if you deliberation her travel from raunchy popular prima to CEO is unexpected, past you haven’t been paying attention.

Kesha has ever embraced contradictions. She exploded onto nan popular segment successful 2010 pinch irreverent receptor candy for illustration “Blah Blah Blah” and “TiK ToK,” stylizing her sanction pinch a dollar motion contempt throwing shadiness astatine nan egregious wealthiness of Hollywood. She didn’t fto group disregard her arsenic a one-dimensional, glitter-clad statement girl. As beleaguered precocious schoolers studied for exams amid Kesha’s emergence to fame, they whispered successful vexation astir really nan world’s astir celebrated statement woman sewage a near-perfect people connected nan SAT, but turned down a full-ride to Barnard College to singing astir peeing successful champagne bottles.

The biggest contradiction of Kesha’s communicative is that contempt surviving nan dream of a popular prima connected nan surface, her years successful nan spotlight were nightmarish down nan scenes. Now, drafting from her ain acquisition suffering astatine nan hands of predatory grounds contracts, Kesha is building an app called Smash, which is simply a measurement for musicians to find 1 another, make euphony together, and found clear, artist-friendly contracts among collaborators.

Smash intends to group itself isolated by utilizing a built-in strategy to make contracts betwixt artists. The position of nan contracts dangle connected what each creator decides — for example, a musician whitethorn determine to licence a hit for group fee, aliases petition a percent of royalties complete time. Smash would money itself by taking a mini trim of payments made done nan app.

“One of nan pieces of leverage, particularly complete younger euphony creators, is you request a measurement into nan club,” Kesha’s relative and Smash co-founder Lagan Sebert told TechCrunch. “With Smash, we want to springiness euphony creators nan keys to get into this nine of professionals and different creators without them emotion for illustration they person to motion thing away, aliases make immoderate ample decisions astir nan remainder of their lives.”

After establishing herself arsenic a powerhouse popular star, Kesha sued her shaper Dr. Luke successful 2014 for alleged sexual, physical, and affectional abuse. He instantly countersued her for defamation, sparking a high-profile ineligible conflict and reckoning pinch nan acheronian broadside of popular music.

Though Kesha sought to get retired of her signaling statement pinch Dr. Luke, nan tribunal ruled against her, forcing her to merchandise 3 much albums pinch him.

It was only this period — connected July 4, a day chosen very intentionally — that Kesha released an medium without Dr. Luke for nan first time. But regaining her ain creator agency isn’t enough. Now that she is simply a afloat independent artist, she wants to thief guarantee that different young musicians don’t autumn unfortunate to exploitative grounds deals for illustration she did.

“One of nan things that really motivated her was erstwhile she went done this agelong ineligible conflict to regain nan authorities to her voice, regain authorities to her music,” Sebert said. “I deliberation nan information down Smash much than thing was to effort to springiness euphony creators entree to nan organization they request to create euphony independently.”

Building nan Band

If Kesha and her relative were going to build an app, they were going to request immoderate technological expertise.

Years ago, Kesha attended an ACTAI Ventures arena and met Lars Rasmussen, who co-founded Google Maps and was 1 of nan first investors successful creation unicorn Canva. The 2 stayed successful touch, and erstwhile it came clip to build Smash, Rasmussen introduced her to Alan Cannistraro, who would go nan app’s CTO.

Cannistraro spent complete 12 years astatine Apple, wherever he worked connected products for creatives for illustration Final Cut; he besides managed a squad of engineers to build nan first ever apps for iOS, for illustration Remote, iBooks, iTunes, and Podcasts. He went connected to commencement Rheo, a societal video startup, but he has ever had an liking successful music.

“In nan precocious ‘90s, erstwhile my friends were each utilizing Napster, I was saying to them, ‘What nan hell, you for illustration this music, why are you screwing nan artist?’” Cannistraro told TechCrunch. “It’s ever conscionable been successful my worth strategy that artists request to beryllium supported.”

When Kesha, her relative Lagan, and Cannistraro started moving together, Rasmussen became 1 of their first investors. Kesha moreover announced nan app arsenic portion of Rasmussen’s Panathēnea show successful Greece.

“Smash is simply a organization level for euphony creators. It’s a spot wherever you tin spell to connect, to create, and to hire, each while retaining nan authorities to what you create,” Kesha said astatine nan festival. “The extremity is to displacement nan powerfulness backmost to nan hands of nan creators.”

“The contracting is safe — it’s each transparent, and past you get to choose, and you get consent complete wherever your creation and wherever your sound goes, and really it goes into nan world, each while retaining nan authorities to what you person conscionable created,” she added.

The Smash app remains a activity successful progress, intending to unfastened to immoderate artists later this year. But to trial immoderate of nan tech devices that nan institution has created frankincense far, Smash hosted a title wherever artists could taxable remixes of Kesha’s opus “Boy Crazy” — nan 5 winners of nan title will person their remixes released connected Kesha’s grounds explanation for what Sebert calls an “industry modular remix fee.”

“I regained nan authorities to my sound backmost for nan first clip successful my big life astir 1 twelvemonth ago, arsenic a 37-year-old woman,” Kesha said astatine Panathēnea. “Predatory deals for illustration that are normal.”