Limited program. 25 artists.
We're hand-picking the first 25 artists on DropKit.
0% take rate for life. Founder-led onboarding. Real promotion from us. We do this so the right artists ship the right drops early, and so the rest of the world sees what DropKit can do.
Rolling acceptances. Spots go fast.
What you get.
Everything every artist on DropKit gets, plus four things only Founding 25 artists get.
DropKit normally takes 10% of every sale. Founding 25 artists never pay a platform fee. Stripe processing still applies, same as anywhere.
20 minute call with the team. We help you set up your first drop, pick your offers, and price them. You walk out with a live drop page.
Your drop gets featured as Artist of the Week on DropKit's channels. We share. Our network shares. You keep every email and dollar.
Slack channel with the founders for support, feature requests, and early access to anything we ship. You shape the product.
What we ask in return.
Founding 25 is a real partnership. We invest in you, you invest back. Here's the deal.
Single, EP, beat pack, exclusive bundle, anything. Live and selling on DropKit within a month of your acceptance.
We get to share your screenshots, drop revenue, and a short quote in DropKit marketing. We always check the angle with you first.
Recorded after your first drop wraps. Phone camera is fine. We use it on the landing page and in ads.
After your first successful drop, you introduce us to one other artist friend who'd be a good fit. That's it.
Who we're looking for.
- ✓Independent. No major label deal. You own your masters or your masters are coming back.
- ✓Real audience. Could be 200 superfans, could be 50k. Size matters less than engagement.
- ✓Releasing music in the next 90 days. We need a real drop, not a hypothetical one.
- ✓Active on at least one of Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, YouTube, or a newsletter.
- ✓You actually want to monetize direct. We can't help artists who only want streaming numbers.
Don't check every box? Apply anyway. Pitch us in the form.
Apply.
Two minutes. We read every word. You'll hear back within 48 hours.
Quick questions.
Yes. As long as you stay on DropKit, you keep 0% platform fee on every drop you ship. We pay our way through every other artist on the platform.
We're flexible on the date if life happens. We're not flexible on the drop happening. Founding 25 is for artists who actually ship. If you stall out, we keep the spot for the next artist in line.
Yes. DropKit is built so payouts go to your Stripe account and buyer emails attach to your drop. That doesn't change in Founding 25. The point of this program is to prove the model, not to gate it.
Founding 25 is for independent artists. If you're signed but releasing something independently or under a side project, mention it in your pitch. We'll figure it out.
You can still create a DropKit account at the standard 10% rate and ship drops today. Founding 25 is a marketing program, not a feature gate.
Pick the artist who could be us in six months.
That's how we're reading every application. If that's you, send it.