What Crossfader does

Crossfader (株式会社クロスフェーダー, Kabushiki Kaisha Crossfader) is a privately held Kyoto-based company founded on April 5, 2018 by Shumpei Nawa (CEO, formerly Accenture) and Kenta Hashimoto (CCO, music creator with Sony-released work and 10M+ YouTube views). The company builds and operates ムビート (mbeat), a consumer mobile application that automatically synchronizes user-recorded video clips with music beats to produce short 'dancing' music videos without manual editing, with declared reach of 130+ countries and App of the Day recognition in 88 countries.

The company's product stack centers on mbeat's proprietary video-music alignment algorithm, supplemented by feature modes such as Double (VJ-style dual screen) and 7 Pinpoint, an automatic effect function, and text input for storytelling. Beyond the app, Crossfader runs the 8小節トラック™️アワード (8-bar Track Award), an annual music creation competition co-organized with mikigakkidjs that has generated 1,822 submissions from 736 artists, and spun off DIG8 Records in August 2022 as a record label built from top competition talent.

The business model is a freemium consumer app distribution supplemented by event hosting (prize money, partner-sourced prizes from Yamaha, KORG, audio-technica, TASCAM, PioneerDJ), broadcast content partnerships (FMやまと jingles), and emerging music artist management and promotion services. No pricing for the app is disclosed, no institutional venture capital has been raised, and disclosed capital stands at ¥12,750,000. Revenue streams remain largely undisclosed, with monetization still primarily dependent on long-tail consumer engagement and event-side sponsorship rather than recurring contracts.

Name

Crossfader

Legal name

株式会社クロスフェーダー (Kabushiki Kaisha Crossfader)

Website

https://crossfader-inc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Crossfader is a Kyoto-based, founder-operated company that builds the mbeat mobile app, which automatically synchronizes user videos with music beats, and operates the 8-bar Track Award music competition and DIG8 Records label serving global consumer and emerging music creator segments.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Mobile Video-Music Synchronization Software

NAICS

Motion Picture and Sound Recording Industries (512), Motion Picture and Video Industries (5121)

SIC

Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812)

akta.pro primary industry

Short-Form Video Creation, Editing & Templates Apps (MPACAHAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Creator Tools & Production (Overlays, Alerts, Encoding, Editing, Audio) (MPAFAEAC), Music & Audio Streaming Platforms (BPAMAJAC)

Keywords

• Video music synchronization
• Short video mobile app
• Social video creation
• Music creator platform
• Beat detection software

Headquarters

HQ city

Kyoto

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Mobile App Distribution: Revenue generated through free mobile app distribution on iOS and Android platforms. The app is free to download with in-app purchase or advertising potential for monetization.
2. Event & Competition Hosting: Organizing the '8小節トラック™️アワード' (8-bar Track Award) competition, potentially generating revenue through event sponsorship, prize provision from partners, and compilation album sales.
3. Music Artist Management & Promotion: Managing and promoting music artists, supporting their distribution and career development.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Crossfader develops and operates mbeat (ムビート), a smartphone application that automatically synchronizes user-recorded video clips with music beats to produce short-form music videos of approximately 10 seconds. The app analyzes selected audio tracks, detects rhythmic beats, and rearranges video segments so the footage visually aligns with the music, creating a "dancing video" effect without requiring user editing skills. The company complements the app with the 8-bar Track Award music competition and the DIG8 Records label to source music content and develop artists within its ecosystem.

Product overview

Crossfader operates a single core product (ムビート/mbeat) and two complementary sub-brands. ムビート is a video-music synthesis app that automatically synchronizes user videos with music beats. The company supports its ecosystem through 8小節トラック™️アワード, an annual music track competition that identifies talented creators, which in turn spawned DIG8 Records as a record label to develop and promote winning artists. Together, these offerings form a closed-loop entertainment platform: the app drives user engagement, the competition sources music content, and the label commercializes talent.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ムビート (mbeat): A video-music synchronization app that automatically syncs user video clips to music beats, creating short music videos in 10 seconds.
• DIG8 Records
• 8小節トラック™️アワード (8-bar Track Award)

Products and services

• mbeat (ムビート) A smartphone application, distributed globally on iOS and Android, that automatically synchronizes user-recorded 10-second video clips with the rhythm of selected music tracks, rearranging video segments to match the audio beat and producing a "dancing video" effect. The app is intended for general consumers (students, families, travelers, casual creators) who want to generate shareable short videos for Instagram, TikTok, LINE, Twitter, and Facebook without video-editing skill. It includes auto-effect modes, text input for storytelling, VJ-style Double mode, 7 Pinpoint scene selection, and in-app music recommendations and history.
• 8-bar Track Award (8小節トラック™️アワード) An annual music competition for amateur trackmakers, co-organized with mikigakkidjs (Miki Gakki DJs), that collects 8-bar music submissions and awards winners with cash prizes, global app-based distribution through mbeat, compilation-album participation, and production support from major artists. The first two editions collected 1,822 tracks from 736 artists, generated 2,200+ livestream viewers for the 物理祭Vol.1 physical event at Club Mogra, and produced the spin-off DIG8 Records label.
• DIG8 Records A record label launched in August 2022 to represent artists identified through the 8-bar Track Award competition, supporting their release, distribution, and promotion as part of Crossfader's creator-development pipeline.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 130 countries reached with app distribution
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Club MograminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2021Club venue that hosted the physical event '物理祭Vol.1' featuring DJ performances and Live sets by 8小節トラックアワード winners.
• FMやまとcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2021Radio station collaborated with 8小節トラックアワード winners to create new jingles for FMやまとの broadcasts. Artists from the competition provided original jingle content for the radio station.
• mikigakkidjs (三木楽器/miki.co.jp DJs)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2021Co-organized the 8小節トラックアワード (8-bar Track Award) competition. mikigakkidjs (Miki Gakki music school) provided venue support and DJ expertise, helping trackmakers gain exposure. The partnership expanded to co-host physical club events like '物理祭Vol.1'.
• Osaka Innovation Hub (OIH) / Osaka CityminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 August 2020Selected as Batch 9 participant in the OIH Seed Acceleration Program (OSAP), Osaka city's startup acceleration program. Received support for business development and growth.
• YAMAHAminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMusical instrument manufacturer provided support and prizes for the 8小節トラックアワード competition.
• KORGminorGTM or Marketing PartnerElectronic instrument manufacturer provided support and prizes for the 8小節トラックアワード competition.
• audio-technicaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAudio equipment manufacturer provided support and prizes for the 8小節トラックアワード competition.
• TASCAMminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAudio recording equipment brand provided support and prizes for the 8小節トラックアワード competition.
• PioneerDJminorGTM or Marketing PartnerDJ equipment manufacturer provided support and prizes for the 8小節トラックアワード competition, supporting the physical event.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• InShot: InShot is a widely used mobile video editor with music sync, effects, and text overlays—overlapping the core mbeat feature set for casual creators. Comparable consumer app targeting and freemium monetization.
• Triller: Triller is a short-form video and music-focused social app with AI-driven editing and music integration, directly comparable to mbeat's combination of video creation and music.
• CapCut (ByteDance): CapCut is the dominant mobile short-form video editing app from ByteDance, offering beat-synced templates, auto-captions, and effects. It is the most direct competitor to mbeat's video-music sync value proposition, with vastly greater resources.
• KineMaster: KineMaster is a professional-grade mobile video editor with audio sync and beat-matching features. Comparable in offering mobile-first video editing with music integration, though more prosumer-oriented than mbeat.
• VivaVideo: VivaVideo is a mass-market mobile video editor with music, effects, and templates targeting social media creators—a comparable product positioning to mbeat.

Emerging players

• BandLab: BandLab is a mobile-first music creation and collaboration platform with a social community. Comparable to the mbeat + 8-bar Track Award combination of creation tooling and creator community.
• LANDR: LANDR provides AI-powered audio production tools (mastering, samples, plugins) to independent musicians—adjacent to the music creator services Crossfader is building around DIG8 Records.
• Splice (BandLab Technologies): Splice is a music creation and sound library app used by independent producers—comparable to the creator-tools side of Crossfader's ecosystem and the same user base targeted by DIG8 Records.

Others

• Epidemic Sound: Epidemic Sound provides licensed music for content creators, comparable in serving the same creator ecosystem mbeat targets and a potential B2B partner for in-app music licensing.

Broad incumbents

• TikTok (ByteDance): TikTok is the dominant short-form video platform with native editing, music library, and beat-synced templates. It competes with mbeat both as a distribution channel (mbeat's viral surface) and increasingly as a creation tool.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/mbeat_official
• Instagraminstagram.com/mbeat_official

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Crossfader