Sound Royalties Defies Stereotype, Revolutionizes Music Financing in the Artist-Driven Digital Economy
Embraced by Creatives, Business Model Offers a Quality Alternative to Traditional Banks
Nashville, TN, November 07, 2019 --(PR.com)-- With the explosive growth of digital technology, the music industry is evolving at an exponential rate. On-demand digital streams grew by 49 percent in 2018, and now account for 80 percent of total music industry revenue. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) reports that by 2025, one billion people will be downloading music.
This massive shift has created a new, artist-driven music economy where the creator is king. There are more platforms than ever before to showcase, share and sell music, and new digital royalty streams allow independent artists to generate lucrative income and grow a global fan base one song at a time. As an asset class, music royalties are hot, with investors paying record multiples in the category.
But some things haven’t changed. The music industry is fiercely competitive, and it still takes money to build a career. Fortunately, innovative funding options for creative projects are starting to drive out the predatory lenders who once peddled unfavorable advances to songwriters, performers and producers. Unscrupulous operators who would gladly take possession in default of the one thing artists need to preserve – their royalty copyrights – are seen as pariahs among today’s creator class.
In their place have emerged a new breed of artist-friendly finance specialists like Sound Royalties, who have been embraced as part of the creative community. Its CEO, Alex Heiche, a Nashville resident and classically trained pianist with a passion for music, founded Sound Royalties in 2014. Sound Royalties’ mission is to provide creatives with working capital backed by their royalty income, without ever putting their copyrights at risk. Sound Royalties advances funding based on the music and its royalty streams, not the person, and never buys or takes possession of a client’s copyrights, even in default.
“We offer an alternative to traditional banking solutions without the need for personal financial statements or tax returns,” said Heiche. “Banks can be constrained by banking regulations that can prohibit them from funding these types of transactions. Sound Royalties strives to be as flexible as possible and build each transaction to fit our customers’ unique needs.”
Sound Royalties uses dynamic pricing based on an analysis of future royalty income, offering advances between $5,000 and $10 million. Songs are evaluated on five criteria: the song’s age and income-producing history; the income source such as ASCAP, BMI, SESAC and others; the royalty type, whether publishing or recording copyrights, traditional or streaming; the depth of catalog, whether a single song or many; and genre, since some music categories have a longer shelf life than others. Finally, the length of the deal is factored in. The artist then selects from a range of customized options.
Pitbull, Lil Wayne, gospel-jazz musician Ben Tankard, and Latin music sensation Brenda K. Starr understand the advantages of the Sound Royalties approach, as do up-and-coming artists such as New Jersey rapper Mesa and soundtrack composer Adonis Tsilimparis (CSI:NY, History Channel). Mesa has used Sound Royalties on three occasions, putting funds toward new music, video production and income-producing investments. Since the time of his first funding, his streaming numbers have skyrocketed well into the millions. Tsilimparis, who recently moved from New York to L.A., has used advances to relieve debt, buy new equipment and hire an orchestra for a film score. “Good orchestras are expensive,” he said. “It helped save the film.”
“Knowledge is power in our business, regardless of your level of success,” said Mesa. “The way Sound Royalties gives you the knowledge and lets you choose your option is the opposite of the stereotypical lender.”
Sound Royalties reverses the misperception that obtaining an advance is too expensive. Their response is a commitment to pricing transparency and artist-first policies such as seeking to make pass-through royalty income part of every deal and not requiring 100 percent recoupment. Heiche’s advocacy for creatives and extensive knowledge of the complex flows of royalty streams is well known, having been invited to speak on the subject by the Recording Academy, Sync Summit, Vanderbilt University, Belmont University and many other organizations.
As technology expands, producing and distributing new content means earning more royalty income and the opportunity to leverage that income and scale a career to greater heights. With a wealth of expertise in copyrights, licensing and royalty-based financing, Sound Royalties is helping creators take control, seize their independence and fulfill their destiny in the new music economy.
About Sound Royalties
Founded by CEO Alex Heiche, Sound Royalties, LLC is a privately-owned specialty finance firm that helps music industry professionals fund personal and professional projects without ever taking ownership of their copyrights, allowing for pass-through income, and empowering creatives to choose from a variety of flexible pricing options. The company's core business is offering royalty advances of anywhere from $5,000 to $10 million. It does this by advancing artist, producer and songwriter royalties paid through music labels, distributors, publishers and PROs such as BMI, ASCAP, SESAC, SoundExchange and many more. To date, Sound Royalties has worked with a wide range of leading music industry professionals, including GRAMMY Award winners, platinum recording artists and notable music industry executives in every genre. Learn more at https://soundroyalties.com.
This massive shift has created a new, artist-driven music economy where the creator is king. There are more platforms than ever before to showcase, share and sell music, and new digital royalty streams allow independent artists to generate lucrative income and grow a global fan base one song at a time. As an asset class, music royalties are hot, with investors paying record multiples in the category.
But some things haven’t changed. The music industry is fiercely competitive, and it still takes money to build a career. Fortunately, innovative funding options for creative projects are starting to drive out the predatory lenders who once peddled unfavorable advances to songwriters, performers and producers. Unscrupulous operators who would gladly take possession in default of the one thing artists need to preserve – their royalty copyrights – are seen as pariahs among today’s creator class.
In their place have emerged a new breed of artist-friendly finance specialists like Sound Royalties, who have been embraced as part of the creative community. Its CEO, Alex Heiche, a Nashville resident and classically trained pianist with a passion for music, founded Sound Royalties in 2014. Sound Royalties’ mission is to provide creatives with working capital backed by their royalty income, without ever putting their copyrights at risk. Sound Royalties advances funding based on the music and its royalty streams, not the person, and never buys or takes possession of a client’s copyrights, even in default.
“We offer an alternative to traditional banking solutions without the need for personal financial statements or tax returns,” said Heiche. “Banks can be constrained by banking regulations that can prohibit them from funding these types of transactions. Sound Royalties strives to be as flexible as possible and build each transaction to fit our customers’ unique needs.”
Sound Royalties uses dynamic pricing based on an analysis of future royalty income, offering advances between $5,000 and $10 million. Songs are evaluated on five criteria: the song’s age and income-producing history; the income source such as ASCAP, BMI, SESAC and others; the royalty type, whether publishing or recording copyrights, traditional or streaming; the depth of catalog, whether a single song or many; and genre, since some music categories have a longer shelf life than others. Finally, the length of the deal is factored in. The artist then selects from a range of customized options.
Pitbull, Lil Wayne, gospel-jazz musician Ben Tankard, and Latin music sensation Brenda K. Starr understand the advantages of the Sound Royalties approach, as do up-and-coming artists such as New Jersey rapper Mesa and soundtrack composer Adonis Tsilimparis (CSI:NY, History Channel). Mesa has used Sound Royalties on three occasions, putting funds toward new music, video production and income-producing investments. Since the time of his first funding, his streaming numbers have skyrocketed well into the millions. Tsilimparis, who recently moved from New York to L.A., has used advances to relieve debt, buy new equipment and hire an orchestra for a film score. “Good orchestras are expensive,” he said. “It helped save the film.”
“Knowledge is power in our business, regardless of your level of success,” said Mesa. “The way Sound Royalties gives you the knowledge and lets you choose your option is the opposite of the stereotypical lender.”
Sound Royalties reverses the misperception that obtaining an advance is too expensive. Their response is a commitment to pricing transparency and artist-first policies such as seeking to make pass-through royalty income part of every deal and not requiring 100 percent recoupment. Heiche’s advocacy for creatives and extensive knowledge of the complex flows of royalty streams is well known, having been invited to speak on the subject by the Recording Academy, Sync Summit, Vanderbilt University, Belmont University and many other organizations.
As technology expands, producing and distributing new content means earning more royalty income and the opportunity to leverage that income and scale a career to greater heights. With a wealth of expertise in copyrights, licensing and royalty-based financing, Sound Royalties is helping creators take control, seize their independence and fulfill their destiny in the new music economy.
About Sound Royalties
Founded by CEO Alex Heiche, Sound Royalties, LLC is a privately-owned specialty finance firm that helps music industry professionals fund personal and professional projects without ever taking ownership of their copyrights, allowing for pass-through income, and empowering creatives to choose from a variety of flexible pricing options. The company's core business is offering royalty advances of anywhere from $5,000 to $10 million. It does this by advancing artist, producer and songwriter royalties paid through music labels, distributors, publishers and PROs such as BMI, ASCAP, SESAC, SoundExchange and many more. To date, Sound Royalties has worked with a wide range of leading music industry professionals, including GRAMMY Award winners, platinum recording artists and notable music industry executives in every genre. Learn more at https://soundroyalties.com.
Contact
Sound Royalties
Amy Lipsky
919-277-1159
https://soundroyalties.com
Amy Lipsky
919-277-1159
https://soundroyalties.com
Contact
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