Shodement, a UK-based artist development startup that launched last year, has raised £10 million ($13.7m) for an advance facility it aims to use to fund the careers of British independent artists.
The company, which is backed by Axial Capital, has raised the money from finance partners including US-based Sound Royalties, which has itself provided advances to artists including Lil Wayne, DJ Khaled, Malik, Wyclef Jean and more in the US.
Like Sound Royalties, Shodement enables artists to take on advances without compromising the ownership of their copyrights.
Shodement’s advance facility enables artists to access up to 12 months of future revenues upfront, including those derived from concerts, festival performances, and streaming royalties.
Shodement says that its finance partners charge a percentage-based commission on this money “primarily based on the historical performance of [an artist’s] catalog on streaming platforms or previous shows”.
The company says it spent the past year in discussions with banks in France as well as finance partners in the UK to finalize the capital needed for the £10 million advance product.
To date, Shodement has invested in artists including Angelica Lopez and Bulgaria’s DARA.
Jay Lamusica, CEO of Shodement said: “We’re very excited to launch this product for UK artists. We want this to feel like getting access to an artist-friendly record deal where you get to keep your masters, creative control and up to £10 million loaded in your account within a few clicks from your smartphone.”
“We want this to feel like getting access to an artist-friendly record deal where you get to keep your masters, creative control and up to £10 million loaded in your account within a few clicks from your smartphone.”
Jay Lamusica, Shodement
Because Shodement’s new product enables advances to be paid out against future live shows and tours – rather than just recorded music income – the company says that some major label acts may even be eligible to apply.
The firm clarifies: “The terms and conditions are strongly dependent on the artist’s risk profile. The more established the artist is, the more predictable the revenues, allowing for more adventurous terms.”
Added Lamusica: “We’ve had the pleasure to meet with the biggest banks in France and held important discussions with other seniors in the sector across Europe over the course of 2020 to finalize the advance service. Other sectors are more advanced, and we’re still behind in many areas. We hope our new service will allow new superstars to break through.
“Artists receiving our advances would mean they would be ‘selling’ a percentage of their future revenue for a cash advance today whilst keeping creative control and ownership of their work, so they can scale globally immediately.”
Shodement says its ambition is for its product to “eventually evolve into a music version of Blackstone in artists’ back pockets”.
Prior to launching Shodement in 2020, Jay Lamusica says he drove £2.7 million in revenue for a UK-based, VC-backed PropTech company, as well as managing local artists in the music sector.Music Business Worldwide