Laylo Launches Discovery Agent to Drive Ticket Sales and Hires Across Six Roles

Direct fan engagement platform Laylo has launched Discovery Agent, an opt-in discovery tool designed to send ticket recommendations directly to fans via text message. Reported by Music Week, the feature sends users a monthly text featuring nearby live dates for artists who match their existing listening habits, directing them to the artist's chosen ticketing partner.

According to InterSpace Music Distribution, more than 250,000 users have opted in to receive recommendations through the platform, drawing from an index of over 40,000 shows across roughly 600 participating artists. The platform now claims more than 90 million fan interactions and has facilitated over $1 billion in gross sales across live tickets, physical merchandise, and direct media releases.

The Drop CRM Architecture

Founded in 2017, Laylo built its core product around the mechanics of time-sensitive release moments, commonly referred to as drops. Musicians, live event promoters, and brands deploy customized landing pages where fans submit phone numbers, email addresses, or social accounts to receive notifications when tickets, merchandise, or music go live. In addition to dispatching automated drop alerts across SMS, WhatsApp, and Instagram direct messages, the platform acts as an audience database that teams retain indefinitely.

The engineering architecture running the platform relies on React and Next.js on the frontend, supported by GraphQL, Neo4j, and PostgreSQL across the data layer. Over the past year, the company expanded its automation capabilities beyond scheduled outbound notifications. It introduced an AI Tour Builder, automated tools to re-engage prospective buyers who abandon checkout carts, and a UGC Agent that monitors Instagram Story tags to capture fan clips before they disappear.

To support engineering operations, the team is actively recruiting a Senior Fullstack Engineer. Working alongside a six-person product team, the engineer will be responsible for planning, organizing, and executing new products end to end while making core architectural decisions.

Origins and Pivot

Co-founders Alec Ellin and Sajan Sanghvi started Laylo after running complementary music-tech projects in Los Angeles. Ellin, who studied TV, radio, and film at Syracuse University, previously operated an independent music blog and worked at Epic Records before starting a music discovery application named Dark Chart. Sanghvi, who studied electrical engineering and computer science at UCLA and produces music with the group no suits, developed an early music streaming aggregator called Silo.

After meeting in Los Angeles, the pair joined forces and entered Y Combinator's S20 cohort with a data analytics platform that tracked top fans across social networks for labels like Sony Music's The Orchard. Realizing the product faced platform API limits and low recurring usage, the founders restructured the business during the pandemic into an announcement-capture CRM. Sanghvi initially built a free signup workflow for his own band's release schedule, providing the template for Laylo's drop model.

Today, the platform serves more than 10,000 artists, promoters, and events, including Sabrina Carpenter, Rosalía, Outside Lands, and Noah Kahan. Total funding sits at $8 million, led by Eldridge alongside Y Combinator, Moment Ventures, Third Prime, and Sony Music Entertainment.

Growth and Platform Integrations

Laylo's recent releases mark a transition from managing an artist's current audience to assisting with top-of-funnel discovery. "CRMs have traditionally helped artists re-engage the fans they already have," Sanghvi told Music Week. "We’ve spent the past year building an audience of fans who want to discover artists they may not know yet. Discovery Agent means every artist on Laylo can now put shows and presales in front of that audience."

Distribution partnerships have driven recent commercial growth. Hypebot reported a collaboration with VIP ticketing platform Sound Rink, allowing touring acts to consolidate RSVPs, presale buyers, and merch purchasers into verified lists. Laylo also completed an integration with Bandsintown, syncing fan RSVPs directly to artist CRM records.

Executive additions reflect the platform's scaling priorities. Laylo appointed Brian Shin, formerly of AI search company Perplexity, as head of growth, while hiring Taz Sharp in London as director of artists and events for EMEA. Sharp previously worked at Levellr and Believe, and now leads operations to expand ticketing partnerships across the UK and Europe while deploying Laylo's RealFan anti-bot verification technology.

To document these case studies and partner campaigns, the company is hiring a Brand Editorial Manager. Reporting to the Head of Growth, the hire will interview tour managers and event promoters to publish two or more customer stories a month, transforming go-to-market briefs into launch campaigns and web copy.

Open Roles at Laylo

Laylo operates with 24 employees and lists six open positions across engineering, marketing, customer support, and sales. Commercial expansion spans North America and Latin America, alongside dedicated account management for music tours and festival organizers.

Sales hiring includes a US Account Executive - Management, Labels, Tours (Dance, Electronic, R&B, Rap) to prospect, demo, and close business with artist managers, labels, and booking agencies while tracking revenue pipelines in HubSpot. Regional outreach is supported by a Sales Development Rep (LATAM Region) tasked with outbound prospecting and qualifying leads across Latin American markets.

Client retention and execution are managed through a Junior Account Manager (Music, Events, Festivals), who handles day-to-day messaging assets, timeline coordination, and campaign calendars for active clients. Onboarding workflows and issue resolution are handled by a contractor Customer Support Specialist, who manages tickets through Intercom to guide customers through their initial drops.

See all open roles at Laylo