Kickstarter acquires its first company

Kickstarter has acquired Drip, a music-streaming service and fan community for independent labels, the company announced today. This marks the first acquisition ever for Kickstarter. Last month, Drip announced it was planning to shut down on March 18th, but Kickstarter swooped in at the last minute to purchase the company.

Drip was founded in 2011 by electronic label Ghostly International founder Sam Valenti IV and Miguel Senquiz to bridge the gap between independent artists and their communities, allowing fans to directly support their favorite musicians, which falls right in line with Kickstarter’s ideology.

The company soon grew into a full-fledged streaming and download service offering special exclusive content like rare tracks and exclusive videos for a collection of high-profile indie labels including Stones Throw Records, Dirtybird Records, Fool’s Gold Records, Now-Again, Morr Music, Domino Records, and Valenti’s label Ghostly International.

The crowdfunding service says Drip will continue to operate, and few things will change initially. Senquiz will join the team at Kickstarter, but the company made no mention of Valenti in the announcement, which means he could be on his way out.