A Paris-based company is entering the music rights management sector with technology designed to help songwriters and publishers recover unpaid royalties.
Claimy announced EUR €1.5 million in funding (approx. USD $1.8 million) from a number of undisclosed music tech investors.
The startup says it has built an artificial intelligence platform that cross-references metadata, royalty rates and collection data from organizations like PRS for Music and SACEM with usage information from monitoring services like BMAT. The system predicts what rightsholders should receive, backed by evidence, and allow them to claim royalties.
The company estimates that roughly 30% of music royalties fail to reach their intended recipients annually, a figure that translates to billions of dollars not making it to songwriters and performers.
MBW understands that the problem stems largely from outdated infrastructure at collecting societies and incomplete data tracking across the music ecosystem.
Claimy’s approach involves analyzing data from multiple sources. It audits rightsholders’ catalog — including remixes, covers, sped-up and slowed-down versions, acoustic or live adaptations — “to ensure all associated masters are tracked,” according to its website.
The platform currently focuses on publishing rights in France and the UK. The company claims to have €6 million ($7m) in rights under management covering 160,000 works.
“Our algorithm compares your payment reports and catalog, then automatically generates claims for any discrepancies with your PROs.”
Claimy
“Our algorithm compares your payment reports and catalog, then automatically generates claims for any discrepancies with your PROs,” Claimy said in its website. The startup also provides insights on where and when artists’ works were played. Through its AI tech, Claimy also analyzes revenue in real-time, allowing rightsholders to determine when payments are expected.
The startup’s client roster includes the team representing Celine Dion. Claimy Co-Founder and CEO Pierre-Alban Mulliez presented the concept at music and tech industry conference Wallifornia last year. The company has been selected among the startups for this year’s Wallifornia.
In his LinkedIn page, Mulliez wrote: “Claimy is a French start-up born out of the realization that the majority of music creators do not receive the full amount of their royalties. Our platform is an all-in-one solution that enables songwriters and music publishers to view, understand and claim all the copyright income they are owed. We help all creators secure full and fair remuneration for the use of their works, in a transparent way.”
Our platform is an all-in-one solution that enables songwriters and music publishers to view, understand and claim all the copyright income they are owed.”
Pierre-Alban Mulliez, Claimy
The timing comes amid concerns of unclaimed royalties in the music industry. Earlier this year, independent rights management and music publishing company Kobalt Music said it estimates over $1 billion in publishing royalties goes uncollected every year.
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