For songwriters to be fairly compensated for their work, they must carefully manage and track their song credits and royalty agreements. Startup SongSplits is seeking investor support to help its business develop a digital music rights platform for songwriters and music artists to properly distribute music royalties.
Blocking new funds
The music royalty business is currently organizing a regulation crowdfunding offering for their company on the StartEngine platform. The start-up company is looking to raise $ 1.07 million over the course of the fundraising effort.
To date, SongSplits has managed to raise more than $ 9,000 in new investor funding with its most recent campaign. Common shares in the music rights business are currently offered to investors at $ 15 per share.
“There is no music business without the song division,” said Al McLean, co-CEO of the start-up company. “If you are a composer, a musician, a creator, and you have no verified divisions, you do nothing. We are putting the power back in the hands of the creator. Our goal is for the entire music royalty system to be verified and paid through by SongSplits “.
A large portion of the funds generated during the campaign will be spent on new marketing initiatives as SongSplits pressures publishers to adopt its music rights platform. The additional funding will help the company pay general operating expenses and continue to develop its platform. Songsplits claims that its music rights platform is now serving more than 250,000 users.
Royalty management and division verification
SongSplits was developed to address the huge amount of royalties unmatched in the music industry. The Mechanical Licensing Collective, a non-profit organization designated by the United States Copyright Office to collect digital royalties under a general mechanical license, raised more than $ 424 million in unmatched royalties from 20 digital service providers across early this year.
To use the music rights platform developed by the startup business, songwriters simply need to sign up for an account and begin negotiations with their partners. All collaborators on a project can negotiate its terms, then sign when an acceptable agreement is reached. The solidified agreement is synced across all contributors’ accounts, allowing the publisher to accurately record the division of the song.
The music royalty start-up company charges an administrative fee for ensuring that the appropriate funds reach the correct composer or music contributor. Composers also have the option to have SongSplits handle royalty collections on their behalf for an additional fee.
Organization of the music publishing industry
Market research expects the global music publishing market to reach more than $ 8 billion by 2026. The industry was worth an estimated $ 5.44 billion in 2018.
The music royalty startup business hopes to capture a significant share of the market with its platform. In the next two years, SongSplits aims to add 500,000 new users to its base.
Other companies, including Jammber and Auddly, are also working on similar platforms to manage music royalties and protect the rights of songwriters. Jammber has secured $ 5.7 million in funding for its Chicago-based business since its founding in 2013. Meanwhile, Auddly has raised approximately $ 4 million in support for its own platform.
