Dequency, which claims to be “the world’s first Web3 music synchronization licensing market”, has raised $4.5 million by way of an funding spherical led by Borderless Capital.
The agency was co-founded by long-time Riptide Music Group CEO Keatly Haldeman, who has now left Riptide, and is main Dequency full time as its CEO.
Haldeman’s new firm claims to be “constructing a first-of-its-kind decentralized music licensing market for music and visible creators”.
Talking with MBW, Haldeman stated that, “the extra I’ve discovered concerning the ideas of Web3, the clearer it’s grow to be that blockchain know-how has the facility to revolutionize the marketplace for music licensing and create extra alternatives for artists”.
Borderless Capital is main the capital increase into Dequency with a $1.5 million funding.
Additionally taking part within the spherical are strategic institutional companions Endeavor and Riptide Music Group, and particular person buyers Steve Kokinos (CEO Algorand), Vinny Lingham (Co-founder & former CEO Civic), Lyndon Rive (Co-founder & CEO Photo voltaic Metropolis), Peter Rive (Co-founder & CTO Photo voltaic Metropolis), Kimbal Musk (Founder Huge Inexperienced DAO, board member SpaceX & Tesla), and Tosca Musk (Founder & CEO Passionflix).
Dequency says that the funding will go towards constructing out its peer-to-peer perform, “enabling music creators to add their work to the platform and immediately license to be used in visible artwork tasks”.
When Dequency launches, the agency claims that its market would be the “solely choice” to license music “on-chain for blockchain-native content material” equivalent to motion-visual NFT tasks, video games, and metaverse productions.
At the moment in growth, Dequency says that it’s constructing its platform on the Algorand blockchain.
Based by cryptographer Silvio Micali, Algorand is an open supply public blockchain primarily based on what Dequency says is “a pure proof-of-stake consensus protocol that helps fast, environment friendly, and safe transactions anyplace on the earth”.
Dequency was based in early 2021 by Haldeman and two different music trade veterans: George Howard and Mark Ross.
Haldeman is the previous CEO of Riptide Music Group, a publishing firm and report label specializing within the synchronization of music to image.
Riptide’s roster contains songs by artists equivalent to Foster The Folks, Selena Gomez, Migos, Quavo, Ziggy Marley, Huge Gigantic, Black Flag, The Turtles, Goldfish, and Fatboy Slim.
George Howard is the previous president of Rykodisc, co-founder of digital music distributor TuneCore, a Professor of music enterprise/administration at Berklee Faculty of Music, in addition to the writer of 2017’s All the pieces In Its Proper Place: How Blockchain Expertise Will Result in a Extra Clear Music Trade.
Mark Ross is the CEO of ACME Innovation, which says that it creates entry to the metaverse for media firms.
The agency has based or financed a large number of leisure associated firms and startups together with Audigent, Music Viewers Change, Riptide Music Group, Undertaking M, and Sir George Martin’s GrandMaster Music.
“I’m happy to share that I’ve lately stepped full-time into this mission, taking over the position of CEO of Dequency.”
Keatly Haldeman, Dequency
Keatly Haldeman, stated: “I’m happy to share that I’ve lately stepped full-time into this mission, taking over the position of CEO of Dequency.
“I’ve had a tremendous eight years as CEO of Riptide Music Group and I’m pleased with our progress over that point. I’m leaving the corporate in nice fingers I do know the workforce goes to maintain crushing it for all of the artists, writers and catalogs Riptide represents.”
Added Halderman within the media assertion saying the fund increase: “As the marketplace for digital visible artwork grows, the addressable marketplace for musical artwork grows meaningfully through sync.
“The Dequency platform facilitates communication and direct transaction between music and visible creators, giving them the chance to learn from this explosion of artists getting into the area.”
“At Dequency we’re guided by a “goal, not product” mindset to assist creators set up and preserve sustainable careers on their very own phrases.”
George Howard, Dequency
Co-founder George Howard added: “Licensing of music into movie, television, or different functions in 2022 is at the moment akin to reserving journey in 1975; inefficient, rife with pointless intermediaries/lease seekers, and closed off to these unable to get by way of the company gatekeepers.
“At Dequency we’re guided by a “goal, not product” mindset to assist creators set up and preserve sustainable careers on their very own phrases.”
“We’re actually excited to affix Dequency and assist their imaginative and prescient of native on-chain music synchronization licensing, energy your complete creator’s financial system and produce it to the following stage.”
David Garcia, Borderless Capital
David Garcia, CEO and Founding Managing Associate at Borderless Capital, stated: “Music was a part of the metaverse world even previous to the existence of the Blockchain.
“We’re actually excited to affix Dequency and assist their imaginative and prescient of native on-chain music synchronization licensing, energy your complete creator’s financial system and produce it to the following stage.”
“Algorand was purpose-built to allow new financial fashions that take away friction and promote inclusion. Dequency’s imaginative and prescient of a peer-to-peer music licensing market does simply that – it prioritizes creators and removes inefficiencies for artists making an attempt to construct sustainable careers.”
Steve Kokinos, Algorand
Steve Kokinos, CEO of Algorand, stated: “Algorand was purpose-built to allow new financial fashions that take away friction and promote inclusion. Dequency’s imaginative and prescient of a peer-to-peer music licensing market does simply that – it prioritizes creators and removes inefficiencies for artists making an attempt to construct sustainable careers.
“It was thrilling to see them make historical past with the primary ever on-chain sync license throughout Decipher this previous Fall, and it’s a privilege to assist them now as they enter this subsequent part of constructing out the platform.”Music Enterprise Worldwide
