Rampersand-backed entertainment booking platform Muso rebrands as Surreal ahead of Series A

Live entertainment platform Muso has rebranded as Surreal, a year after expanding into the UK and New Zealand ahead of a Series A raise.

Surreal is a software solution designed to streamline and simplify the booking, management, payment and promotion of live entertainment.

Cofounder and chief operating officer Alan Jin said the business has grown rapidly in the UK since its launch there in mid-2022, with a monthly average growth rate of 27%, signing up several leading venue groups, and surviving the pandemic shutdowns that spanned much of Surreal’s five-year existence. 

“Now we have secured some of the UK’s largest and most popular venues right across the country – it’s a pinch yourself moment. We’re so privileged to have brought so many amazing venues and artists  together, who all share our deep passion and commitment to keeping the scene alive,” he said.

“Culturally the UK is also very similar to Australia, so it is easy for us to bring our experience and expertise to the market and bring value to our customers. Our expansion has been so rapid that we’ve hired a team based in the  UK to help with customer service enquiries and sales.”

Jin cofounded the business as Muso in 2018 with Jeremiah Siemianow and Brandon Crimmins, last raising $2 million in October 2021 in a round led by Rampersand in what it called a Seed+ round. Two years earlier, the gig booking app banked a $1.5 million Seed round.

Jin said the Surreal platform boasts over 10,000 artists, 5,000 venues and 54,000 gigs globally with $27 million in payments being made through the platform per year. 

“Our team are some of the best in business hailing from incredible companies such as Eventbrite,  Facebook and Etsy, and we can see that experience materialise in our new product, Surreal,” he said. 

Among the company’s clients is London venue Boxpark, with the company’s COO Ben McLauglin, who said the platform brings all of their entertainment scheduling and invoicing into one place.

“The flexibility and simplicity of Surreal add another level to our business, allowing our team greater visibility of bookings and a streamlining of our payment processes ensuring more robust programming  and saving valuable time for both the events teams and the artists,” he said.

“Our business is rapidly expanding,  and Surreal will allow us to scale easily, ensuring our talent pool grows with us,.”