Tracy Maddux, former Chief Commercial Officer at Downtown Music Holdings, has led a “multi-million dollar” strategic investment in rights management platform OpenPlay, giving him a board seat.
As board member, Maddux brings experience in music technology to OpenPlay, which serves more than 3,500 labels, distributors and publishers across 24 countries.
During his stay at Downtown, he led major acquisitions, including distribution platform FUGA and Curve Royalty Systems. He previously transformed CD Baby into a global operation. Maddux left Downtown in November 2023 after serving in the role since October 2020.
He currently serves on the boards of music companies LANDR and PostUp.Pro, and as a Principal Consultant at Artes Management LLC.
The investment in OpenPlay comes as the music rights market becomes more complex, with more than 120,000 new tracks entering streaming platforms daily, according to OpenPlay.
“OpenPlay has successfully become a trusted, independent platform that enhances and empowers business relationships. It provides the control and visibility that rightsowners have long been looking for.”
Tracy Maddux, Artes Management LLC
Maddux said: “OpenPlay has successfully become a trusted, independent platform that enhances and empowers business relationships. It provides the control and visibility that rightsowners have long been looking for, providing a critical infrastructure layer that means it’s well positioned to play an even greater role in shaping the systems of the global music business.
“I’m looking forward to supporting the team in this exciting next chapter.” Maddux will join OpenPlay Co-Founders Edward Ginis and Brady Brim-DeForest on the board.
Founded in 2013, OpenPlay describes itself as “the operational backbone of the global music business.” It manages “millions of assets daily,” and operates in 30 languages.
Joining Maddux in the investment round are several industry figures including David Alexander, founder of Sheer Publishing, an independent music publisher focused on African markets; John Horton, founder and former CEO of compliance firm LegitScript; and FaroLatino, an independent music company that focuses on the digital distribution, publishing, royalty collection and catalog management for the Latin music market.
“OpenPlay puts you firmly in the driver’s seat, all while maintaining all relationships with distributors, service providers and the broader ecosystem.”
Edward Ginis, OpenPlay
OpenPlay says its business model allows rightsholders to maintain control over their catalogs without affecting their relationships with distributors, service providers and the broader ecosystem.
Edward Ginis, CEO of OpenPlay, said: “We are building the business engine that powers how music rights are managed, monetized, and maximized globally. The industry has been waiting for a platform that doesn’t force rightsowners to choose between control and collaboration.”
Added Ginis: “OpenPlay puts you firmly in the driver’s seat, all while maintaining all relationships with distributors, service providers and the broader ecosystem. This new investment accelerates our ability to deliver that freedom to every rightsholder globally.”
OpenPlay offers products that address challenges in music rights management including Music, which handles recorded music catalog management; Reach, which provides distribution services for labels; InTune, which processes financial statements and revenue analysis; and Flow, which manages organizational workflows.
The latest investment comes three months after OpenPlay teamed up with payouts platform Trolley, integrating it into Reach, which launched in March.
With the integration, OpenPlay will use Trolley as its financial compliance royalty payments provider to enable “fast and secure transactions.”
Music Business Worldwide
