Blockchain-based music investment platform Royal, co-founded by Justin Blau, aka musician and producer 3LAU, has closed a $55 million Series A round.
The round was led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) with additional investment from CAA and NEA’s Connect Ventures, Crush Music, Coinbase Ventures, Founders Fund and Paradigm to build the future of music ownership on-chain.
The company has also attracted new investment from artists such as The Chainsmokers, Nas, Logic, Stefflon Don, Kygo, Joyner Lucas and Disclosure.
To date, 3LAU has sold over $20 million in primary sales from his NFT releases across his 3LAU, and SSX3LAU releases.
His blockchain platform Royal, which launched over the summer, aims to enable fractional music ownership through its own version of NFTs.
Royal’s Series A round follows its successful seed round in August, which raised $16 million.
The platform says that it will use the new funds to “invest in the growth of its ecosystem”
It adds that “thousands of artists, from household names to up-and-comers, have reached out to work with Royal’.
Last month, Royal claims to have “proved its concept in its initial interaction on the platform” after 3LAU gave away 333 limited digital assets (Royal’s extended version of an NFT) representing 50% streaming ownership in his latest single, Worst Case.
According to Royal, within the first two weeks, the song has reached “an implied value” of over $6 million with fans holding half of the value.
Additionally, the tokens have traded over $650,000 in secondary market volume, which Royal says, shows “how an open market values ownership in music royalties”.
In a blog post announcing the Series A investment, Royal claims that it is demonstrating how it will “make music royalty ownership accessible to the masses, allowing anyone to buy tokens representing their favorite songs and share in the royalties”.
The blog post adds: “Connecting artists directly with fans as royalty owners creates a deeper connection with aligned incentives, providing numerous advantages for everyone involved and flipping the legacy music business model upside down.
“Royal’s model represents a new era in music royalty ownership, streamlined through blockchain technology.”
“We couldn’t be more excited to welcome a roster of innovative artists that believe in our mission.”
Justin “3LAU” Blau
Royal CEO and Co-Founder, Justin “3LAU” Blau, said: “The company is growing at a rapid pace beyond expectations, reaching over 120,000 sign-ups since announcing at the end of August.
“We couldn’t be more excited to welcome a roster of innovative artists that believe in our mission.”
“We believe blockchain technology has the ability to transform music ownership the same way the internet has transformed the way music is listened to.”
The Chainsmokers
Electronic duo The Chainsmokers said: “We believe blockchain technology has the ability to transform music ownership the same way the internet has transformed the way music is listened to.
“At the dawn of Web3, Royal’s model of modernizing the way we collect and share music made perfect sense to us as musicians and investors — we had to get involved.”
“When Justin told us about Royal and how artists can share rights to their music directly with their community, it just clicked.”
Chris Zarou, Logic and manager
Logic and his manager Chris Zarou, said: “When Justin told us about Royal and how artists can share rights to their music directly with their community, it just clicked.
“To us, that’s a game-changer. ”
“The Royal team has an audacious vision to apply the ethos of web3 to transforming the music industry in a way that empowers artists and their fans.”
Kathryn Haun, Andreessen Horowitz
Kathryn Haun, General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz, said: “The Royal team has an audacious vision to apply the ethos of web3 to transforming the music industry in a way that empowers artists and their fans.
“Music is one of the most exciting unlocks for NFTs. 3LAU’s firsthand experience as a successful artist paired with JD’s exceptional track record as a repeat founder and startup operator makes them the ideal pair to tackle the complex undertaking of applying blockchain technology to music rights and ownership.”Music Business Worldwide