JKBX, the trading platform that enables members of the public to buy fractional income streams from music, has announced a partnership with SoundExchange.
According to a press release, SoundExchange will serve as the payment solution for JKBX’s Creator Program.
Announced last year, JKBX’s Creator Program sees the platform pay songwriters bonuses following the trading of income streams from their music, regardless of whether those songwriters/artists still own their rights.
JKBX obviously isn’t under any legal obligation to pay these bonuses; instead, the company says it’s opting to do so as it “strongly believes that the creators must continue to be part of the value chain and be rewarded financially”.
SoundExchange is best known as the largest neighboring rights organization in the world, collecting and distributing royalties on sound recordings for record labels and artists.
JKBX CEO Scott Cohen said: “We knew, once we created the Creator Program, that SoundExchange was the obvious choice. They are the most well-known payment solution in the world, and we’re excited to kick off a partnership that will bring another avenue of money to Artists and Creators.
“The JKBX Creator Program was designed to continually reward the creators and artists for their contributions to society. We firmly believe that the talent who creates this indispensable artform that fuels us deserves that right.”
Michael Huppe, President and CEO of SoundExchange, said: “We are thrilled to apply our best-in-class music administration technology and acumen to ensure speedy and accurate payments for the JKBX Creator Program. The mission of SoundExchange is to help creators maximize the value of their work and JKBX provides a new alternative to monetize music assets in a new way, deepening the connection between artists and fans. It’s an exciting platform with the potential to have millions of music fans invested in the craft.”
Via JKBX (pronounced ‘jukebox’), music fans and retail investors can purchase royalty shares of hits recorded by artists such as OneRepublic, Major Lazer, Beyoncé, and many others.
JKBX launched out of beta in March, having received qualification from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for its assets.
The company was co-founded by Sam Hendel and John Chapman of private investment firm Dundee Partners, in addition to Scott Cohen.
Dundee Partners recently teamed with Universal Music Group on Chord Music Partners, which owns over 60,000 music assets including cuts on a range of Ryan Tedder hits.
JKBX raised USD $16 million in January 2023 from investors, according to a Billboard cover article in August 2023, with backers including Mike Novogratz’s Galaxy Digital, Valor Equity Partners, plus Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss.
The likes of Spotify, Live Nation, Red Light Management, and Bertelsmann Digital Media are all also believed to have invested in JKBX.
Music Business Worldwide