New platform DjookyX enables fans to invest in music rights

A new music and fintech startup has launched a platform for fans to invest in music rights.

Brian Malouf, Djooky co-founder, said: “Our vision is to ensure that all artists, no matter what their background or country of residence, can enjoy equal access to the best support available to create and promote their music. This is a significant milestone for us in our long-term goal of bringing much-needed reform to the recordings business.”

As music continues to grow in popularity as a type of asset, helped by the spiralling prominence of blockchain technology and new ways to monetise the arts, DjookyX offers a means for music creators and rights-holders to finance their projects. At the same time, it gives fans an avenue to purchase rights in tracks of their choice and benefit from future royalties.

DjookyX’s initial marketplace allows creators and labels to auction current and future rights – be it in the song, recording, or both. Creators can auction claims for payment arising from the use of their music and maintain ownership of their copyrights.

Fans who would like to invest can see a breakdown of how artists intend to use the funds generated, covering activities such as recording sessions, marketing campaigns and producing music videos.

The marketplace emulates a Dutch auction process, with the final price paid by successful bidders based on the lowest price offered across all winning bids – with the portfolio of the rights displayed in an online wallet for each user. All transactions are managed by an external payment solution provider Mangopay to ensure users’ funds remain safe.

Djooky is also launching a secondary marketplace early in 2022. It will offer a platform for fans to trade music rights purchased on the primary exchange, further driving engagement within artists’ fanbases.

Both marketplaces are managed by Germany-based Djooky and have received approval from the country’s Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin).