The music industry is undergoing massive growth, but IP rights management has not evolved alongside the industry. This has prevented artists and rights holders from leveraging this growth to control and financialize their assets. There are a number of problems facing the industry today:
- Music IP contracts are old, outdated and not digitally native: Contracts are tangible assets stuck in an analog world. IP rights agreements are offline in an online digital economy and lack automated compliance and transferability.
- No easy coordination of value transfer between IP rights holders and counter-parties: Transfers between rights holders, revenue collection societies and counter parties are slow and opaque, causing a large time delay between the time revenue is earned and when the artist gets paid. Revenue often lies unclaimed.
- No price discovery or access to liquidity for artists assets: While large artists manage to access liquidity for their future royalty streams, the majority of artists have no access to liquidity and no market exists for proper price discovery of those assets. Giving artists control over their income-bearing assets unlocks new financial options.
- No way to share profits with fans and build dynamic fan communities: Artists have no direct control over their royalty streams that pass through traditional financial institutions. They are limited in how they engage with their fans. Unlocking the ability to share financial upside with super fans and engaged communities can unlock new ways for artists to engage, be supported and give back to their communities.
- Creators are underpaid and are forced into a ‘one price for all users’ model: Artists’ share of revenues is small, capturing just 12% of music revenue. This excludes many people from entering the industry, as only hits produce a lucrative income. If artists could engage with fans and tier their offerings, new revenue streams would be created for artists, enabling more artists and creators to make an income from their art.