SongVest is an American company that operates an online platform for buying and selling music royalties and other royalty assets. It provides a centralized online marketplace where royalty owners can sell their future payments to investors.
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| Founded | 2007 |
|---|---|
| Website | www |
History
editSean Peace and David Prohaska launched SongVest in October 2008 with an initial aim of auctioning small portions of the royalties of 18 songs, recorded by artists including Cher, Garth Brooks, and Aerosmith, to fans as memorabilia. The business plan was to collect commissions from buyer and seller at the time of sale, after which SongVest would handle the royalty payments to the buyers. The songs included "(Theme from) The Monkees" and Brooks' "Friends in Low Places." The official launch followed a test auction in 2007 that had taken in $25,000 for one-quarter interests in two songs by the band Stryper.[1]
In 2011 Peace expanded on the idea, co-founding Royalty Exchange with Reggie Calloway and Wilson Owens to offer royalty shares in music and other properties to accredited investors on a larger scale.[2][3]
The initial iteration of SongVest closed down in December 2013,[4] but Peace continued with Royalty Exchange until October 2015.[5] He re-launched SongVest in 2020. SongVest conducts due diligence and financial analysis of the music royalty opportunities it plans to offer, then lists the opportunities on its website. Registered users can bid on the opportunities when they go live. SongVest then provides closing paperwork and notifies the organizations that pay the royalties of the auction results.[6]
SongVest's notable auctions have extended beyond music, to include memorabilia, comedy albums, and NFTs.
In 2021 SongVest added an advance auction platform that created a new financing opportunity for artists and songwriters, enabling these rights holders to lock in a low internal rate of return, retain ownership of their copyright, and retain a buyback option.[7]
SongVest auctions current as of summer 2021 included the writer's share of hits by Flo Rida and catalogs that include songs recorded by Cardi B, Notorious B.I.G, Travis Scott, Busta Rhymes, Mariah Carey, Onyx, and Sister Hazel.[8]
Notable Auctions
edit- Michael Jackson: In December 2010 SongVest auctioned memorabilia from Michael Jackson and John Lennon.[9]
- Rudy Ray Moore: On 30 July 2020 SongVest auctioned the master recordings of the comedy albums of Rudy Ray Moore, best known for his Dolemite persona.[10]
- Pac-Man Fever: In April 2021 SongVest brokered its first NFT auction, consisting of five NFT versions of Jerry Buckner's "NiFTy Fever", an updated take on the 1980s Buckner & Garcia hit "Pac-Man Fever."[11]
References
edit- ^ Ethan Smith (10 September 2008), Dream On: Own Part of a Hit Song, Wall Street Journal, retrieved 21 June 2021
- ^ Laura Baverman (9 June 2014), Website turns music royalties into investments, USA Today, retrieved 21 June 2021
- ^ Kevin Chupka (14 May 2014), Stocks, bonds, and...Coldplay? How music royalties have the potential to make YOU money, Yahoo! Finance, retrieved 21 June 2021
- ^ Mike Ivey (11 December 2013), One-time Madison start-up SongVest closes down, The Cap Times, retrieved 21 June 2021
- ^ "Royalty Exchange founder sells company assets; starts new venture - Triangle Business Journal". Triangle Business Journal. 10 September 2015. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
- ^ David Dunn (29 June 2021), Why music royalties are hitting the right note for investors, The National News, retrieved 29 June 2021
- ^ DJ Montay, Writer For Migos, Flo Rida Talks NFT’s, Future Of Publishing And New Platform SongVest, AllHipHop, 22 April 2021, retrieved 21 June 2021
- ^ Close Auctions, SongVest, retrieved 21 June 2021
- ^ SONGVEST To Auction Personal Video of Michael Jackson Triumph Tour Rehearsal - Oct. 27, 2010, PRWeb, 28 October 2010, archived from the original on January 22, 2011, retrieved 21 June 2021
- ^ Jason Price (29 July 2020), Rudy Ray Moore's Comedy Album Master Recordings Set for Auction, Icon vs. Icon, retrieved 21 June 2021
- ^ Zack Zwiezen (16 April 2021), No One Asked For This NFT Version Of ‘80s Hit ‘Pac-Man Fever', Kotaku, retrieved 21 June 2021