A new music messaging app called Feels Music Messaging or Feels launched on iOS and Android on Tuesday (March 24), securing licensing agreements with Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, and Warner Music Group.
The company also struck publishing deals with Sony Music Publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group, and Warner Chappell Music.
The licensing deals give the platform access to “millions of licensed tracks, videos and lyrics,” Feels said in a press release.
Paul Rosenberg, Eminem’s manager, is an early investor and board member, while venture firm Reign Ventures also backed the company.
The app lets users send short-form audio and music video clips of up to 15 seconds, with lyrical overlays and customizable fonts and backgrounds, directly within texts, DMs, and group chats through a keyboard extension.
Feels explained that the format is designed to function like a GIF that users can search for by artist, emotion, song title, and lyrics.
“We’re transforming music from a listening experience into an active form of connection and communication, one that creates new moments of discovery, engagement, and commercial opportunity for artists and rights holders.”
Tony Seyler, Feels Music Messaging
Artists, songwriters and fans can use Feels to collaborate and create content to reach new audiences, the company said. Each “Feels” message generates earning potential for artists and songwriters, although specific royalty terms were not disclosed.
The platform uses machine learning and AI to map music, aiming “to gather deep understanding of our users emotional musical intelligence,” Feels said.
Feels was founded by Anthony (Tony) Seyler, a two-time Grammy-nominated executive who spent over two decades at Interscope Records, where he served as EVP and built the label’s film, TV, and video game licensing divisions. He also helped launch BEATS by Dre under Jimmy Iovine, and produced the Billie Eilish documentary The World’s A Little Blurry, which received an Academy Award shortlist nomination.
Tony Seyler, Founder & CEO of Feels Music Messaging, said: “Feels is building a new lane for fans to connect with the music and artists they love.”
“We’re transforming music from a listening experience into an active form of connection and communication, one that creates new moments of discovery, engagement, and commercial opportunity for artists and rights holders.”
‘The way music makes us feel is what keeps bringing fans back to their favorite artists and their songs. With Feels, fans and artists have a new, unique way to develop and strengthen that bond.”
Paul Rosenberg, Eminem’s manager
Rosenberg said: “I’ve always been driven by the message and emotion that comes from music. The way music makes us feel is what keeps bringing fans back to their favorite artists and their songs. With Feels, fans and artists have a new, unique way to develop and strengthen that bond.”
“We welcome new and innovative commercial partners for our artists and songwriters, and look forward to working with Feels to showcase and amplify the role that music can play in how fans communicate and share socially.”
Michael Nash, Universal Music Group
Michael Nash, EVP & Chief Digital Officer at Universal Music Group, said, “At UMG, we understand the importance and power of music and lyrics to drive culture, conversation, and community within music fans. We welcome new and innovative commercial partners for our artists and songwriters, and look forward to working with Feels to showcase and amplify the role that music can play in how fans communicate and share socially.”
Carletta Higginson, Chief Digital Officer & EVP, Warner Music Group, said: “We want music to be a seamless part of how fans connect every day. Feels creates a new way for them to express themselves, while opening up meaningful discovery and engagement opportunities for our artists.”
“We want music to be a seamless part of how fans connect every day. Feels creates a new way for them to express themselves, while opening up meaningful discovery and engagement opportunities for our artists.”
Carletta Higginson, Warner Music Group
The launch comes as Spotify also experiments with music-based messaging. The streaming giant launched its direct messaging feature in August 2025, which according to the company, was meant to make sharing music and other content easier. In January, Spotify expanded the feature to allow users to see what their friends are listening to in real-time and start shared listening sessions.
Separately in February last year, Instagram added a new music-sharing feature to its direct messaging service. The update builds upon Instagram’s October 2024 partnership with Spotify, which introduced the ability for users to save songs discovered on Instagram directly to their Spotify libraries with a single tap.
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