*The Short-form video-sharing app Triller has acquired Verzuz, the virtual music-competition program created by Timbaland and Swizz Beatz.
Per Rolling Stone, the acquisition ends a recent partnership between the beat-battle project and Apple Music
“This is a momentous occasion not only for Verzuz and Triller but the music business as a whole,” Swizz Beatz and Timbaland said in a joint statement. “By putting Verzuz in the Triller Network ecosystem and expanding the Verzuz brand to be side by side with the powerful Triller app, we will be able to continue to grow and evolve the music business as a whole, as we have been doing. To have partners in Triller who share our vision, specifically to celebrate and elevate the amazing artists who continue to shape culture around the world and give the consumer more direct access, is game changing.”
READ MORE: Timbaland and Swizz Beatz Reject TV Deals for Their Verzuz Battles
The initial Verzuz battle debuted on Instagram Live last March between Timbaland and Swizz Beatz. Since then, music fans have been treated to battles featuring Snoop Dogg, DMX, Benny Blanco, Ryan Tedder, Babyface, Teddy Riley, Gladys Knight, Patti LaBelle, Gucci Mane and Jeezy, Ashanti, Keyshia Cole to name a few.
Rolling Stone writes, “The show has proven to be a significant booster for featured artists’ streams for their catalogs too, with Knight and LaBelle seeing over 200% increases in streams in the days following their show.” Per Yahoo, “Brandy and Monica’s battle gained 6 million views when it aired and raised $250,000 for When We All Vote.”
“Verzuz isn’t just a company, a platform or an event, it is a cultural movement and phenomenon,” Triller Network’s co-controlling shareholders Bobby Sarnevesht and Ryan Kavanaugh said in a statement. “In our generation, Verzuz has made a bigger impact on music than any other company we know. With this acquisition, Triller continues its evolution to be at the center of culture and the center of music. Who better to help shape Triller’s music future than the top artists in the world overseen by Timbaland and Swizz?”
Watch Timbaland and Swizz Beatz discuss the Triller deal in the clip above.
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