Investing Women Angels (IWA) which led the investment into London-based terrible*, supports artists of all creative industries in the UK, US and Europe by creating and sourcing merchandise to be sold online and at events. 

The money, led by IWA with support from other undisclosed individual investors, will be used to improve the platform as well as drive further growth of the business into new sectors and across the US and other global markets.

As part of the investment, IWA member Pamela Barclay will join the terrible* board as its investor director. 

“2023 has already seen a period of exciting growth and expansion, so we look forward to working with Pamela and IWA to ensure the rest of the year and beyond continues in the same vein,” said CEO of terrible*, Tersha Willis.

Willis has harboured a close relationship with IWA and sister company AccelerateHER since its conception in 2016. In 2020, Willis won an award at the AccelerateHER awards celebrating female founders. 

Artists use the terrible* platform to facilitate payments, logistics, and inventory data to help maximise profitability and long-term merchandising revenue streams. The company now has over 700 artists on its roster including names like King Krule, Beabadoobee, Japanese Breakfast, Shygirl, and King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard. 

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“IWA is immensely proud to be leading this investment to support terrible*, an innovative and inspiring merchandise technology business bringing a fresh and unique approach to its market,” said Barclay. 

In a music industry where artists make between £0.002-£0.004 per stream on Spotify, merchandise sales offer artists a steady revenue stream. 

According to Licensing International, Global sales revenue generated by licensed merchandise and services grew to over £254 billion in the most recent recorded year, 2021. This is a near 8% jump from 2019.