(left to right) anotherblock co-founder Sebastian Ljungberg (CTO), Michel D. Traore (CEO) and Filip Strömsten (COO). Photo credit: anotherblock
Notwithstanding the well-documented funding drop in the Web3 space, music non-fungible token (NFT) startup anotherblock has announced the completion of a €4 million ($4.35 million at current exchange rate) seed round.
Anotherblock, headquartered in Stockholm, which announced a $2.5 million capital increase last June and officially launched in August, today gave details of its latest multi-million dollar raising in a formal email announcement to Digital Music News. Dollar round known. Unlike the seemingly insignificant offerings of many competing NFT platforms, Anotherblock’s tokens are tied to partial ownership of the titles’ streaming royalties, according to the company’s website.
To date, the less than a year old “blockchain-based marketplace” appears to have offset the sale of streaming shares of Rihanna-popular songs (“Bitch Better Have My Money,” with each token representing 0.0033% of the streaming royalties). , and Metro Boomin (“Ric Flair Drip”, each token consisting of “0.00075% of the existing music streaming rights”) and others.
Now, Anotherblock intends to use its latest investor capital infusion to “expand globally” and “bring its product to a wider range of artists, producers and record labels,” according to executives.
London-based Stride.VC (also a Linktree and Daily Motion backer) is said to have spearheaded another block’s $4.35 million raising, and Axwell (real name Axel Hedfors) joined Steve Angello, a member of the Swedish House Mafia, which participated in a previous round, by funding This Time’s Web3 operation.
“I’ve followed Anotherblock from the beginning and it’s clear that their work aligns with their vision,” shared 45-year-old Axwell, whose group sold their back catalog to Björn Ulvaeus-founded Pophouse Entertainment in March 2022. “Enabling Greater rights flexibility is the future of the music industry. It creates a whole new freedom for creators to share the monetary incentives with the fans, which is the most important thing we have.”
Meanwhile, Michel D. Traore, co-founder and CEO of AnotherBlock, elaborated on the above expansion plans in his own remarks, notably disclosing the goal of reaching potential customers outside of the crypto space. (The company’s co-founders also include former NASDAQ software developer Sebastian Ljungberg, who doubles as CTO, and former SEB executive Filip Strömsten, who serves as COO.)
“In the first year our main focus was to educate and test our product, but going forward it’s all about reaching an even wider audience, especially outside of crypto, and giving even more developers the opportunity to get involved” , said former Lendo manager Traore said in part. “The blockchain ecosystem currently has more active users and greater opportunities to engage them than ever before, opening up endless possibilities for combining music rights and technology.”
In the near term another block is planning an NFT for Mims’ This is Why I’m Hot (2006) and the release is currently scheduled for Wednesday 7th June. Last week, Swedish “self-service music licensing platform” Freshsound announced its own fundraiser of around $2.2 million.