Djooky launches music rights marketplace

The website will allow creators to auction claims for payment arising from the use of their music, and maintain ownership of their copyrights.

The marketplace is expected to offer a means for music creators and rights holders to finance their projects, while fans can acquire rights to songs of their choice and benefit from the future royalties.

Fans who would like to invest are able to 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 bidding follows a Dutch auction process, with the final price paid by successful bidders based on the lowest price offered across all winning bids. Once purchased, the portfolio of the rights is clearly displayed in an online wallet for each user. To protect the funds, Djooky says all transactions are held in escrow by independent payment solutions provider Mangopay.

“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,” Djooky co-founder Brian Malouf said. “This is a significant milestone for us in our long-term goal of bringing much-needed reform to the recordings business.”

Djooky co-founder and head of corporate strategy Stefan Eghbalian said: “By fostering a more diverse and inclusive community within the music industry, the DjookyX marketplace facilitates an interactive space where music lovers can be directly involved in creating the next big hit.”

Artists including Dominik Jesz, Yuni Marimba, Blad P2A and Loulia Esteves have already joined the new platform. Interested artists and investors can find more information on how it works and sign up for the service here.

Djooky also plans to launch a secondary sales element early in 2022, which will allow investors to trade the rights that they have acquired. Both marketplaces will be run by Germany-based Djooky and have received approval from the country’s Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin).

Djooky also runs the Djooky Music Awards – a global online song contest, which launched in July 2020. This has since attracted nominations from more than 140 countries, as well as voting registrations from about 150 000 music fans.