NFT music rights startup Royal recently completed another immense fundraising process. This acquisition from Andreessen Horowitz’s crypto investment arm comes less than three months after the disclosure of the astonishing $16 million initial round spearheaded by Paradigm and Founders Fund. This is great news as it doesn’t just bring a new world of opportunities to NFT-friendly musicians but also to eager users in the NFT market.
Impact of this acquisition
The impact of this acquisition is enormous, users can purchase NFTs which represent ownership in a musician’s work through the company’s partnership. The impressive work being done by Royal isn’t just a trailblazer into the diverse capabilities of NFTs beyond the scope of games and visual art, it’s changing the world of music, bringing concepts previously thought unrealistic to life.
This impressive concept is being made a reality by JD Ross, one of the founders of the home-buying site Opendoor and Justin Blau, an EDM artist popularly known as 3LAU. It should also be noted that Katie Haun, one of the founders of a16z Crypto and a board member of NFT marketplace OpenSea is a major player in this endeavor. The firm has a long history with Royal’s management team, having previously invested in Ross’s prior company, Opendoor.
A closer look
Last month 3LAU released 333 finite digital assets (Royal’s extended form of an NFT). This represents 50 percent streaming ownership in Worst case, his current single. And according to Royal, the song has garnered an implied worth of almost $6 million in just two weeks with fans holding fifty percent of the value.
Furthermore, the tokens have traded well over six hundred thousand USD in secondary market volume, demonstrating the immense value of the ownership of music royalties in an open market.
Royal stated in a blog post announcing the Series A investment that it is exhibiting how the firm will make the ownership of music royalty easily available to the general populace, making it possible for anyone to buy tokens representing their favorite songs and partake in the royalties.
This mind-blowing concept will connect artists directly with fans as royalty owners create a stronger connection that will yield countless benefits for all involved.
Are we witnessing a new era in the music world?
The world of music is experiencing a momentous change and Royal is paving the way. The company is developing at an incredible rate, shattering all expectations. The company has garnered over 120,000 sign-ups since launching at the end of August and it’s showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon. “Through blockchain technology, Royal’s strategy offers a new era in music royalties ownership.” said Royal CEO and Co-Founder Justin “3LAU” Blau.
Kygo, Nas, The Chainsmokers, and Logic are among the musical acts who have joined the round alongside A16z Crypto. The investment also included Crush Music, Founders fund, Coinbase Ventures, Paradigm, CAA, and NEA’s Connect Ventures.
“We believe blockchain technology has the potential to alter music ownership in the same way the internet has transformed the way music is listened to,” the Chainsmokers said. The group explains that as artists and investors at the dawn of Web3, Royal’s vision of changing the way artists collect and exchange music made perfect sense. This is why the group decided to get involved.
Logic and his manager Chris Zarou explained that when Justin told them about Royal and how artists can share rights to their music directly with their community, it just clicked. To the brand, it was a game-changer of great proportions which is why they decided to come on board.
Bottom line
When it comes to advertising possibilities to grow alongside artists while remaining consistent with securities regulations, boundary-pushing ventures like Royal still have a fine line to walk. However, moves like this are certainly setting the pace for bigger feats in the world of NFT.