Ditto has announced Opulous, a peer-to-peer platform to help increase artists’ access to capital without the need for traditional institutions such as banks.
As a global music distribution and record label services company, Ditto has processed more than $1 billion in royalties to date.
Now the company is rolling out a decentralised finance (DeFi) offering backed by music as an asset class. Opulous will function as a loan pool that artists can borrow from and also contribute towards.
For those artists looking to borrow money, the loan is guaranteed against the artist’s past streaming revenues with the copyrights they own held as collateral. Meanwhile, artists, and other investors, will also be able to pay into Opulous’ Music Copyright Pools, earning 10% per annum on any contributions they make.
Opulous will use blockchain technology to connect investors with artists needing a loan, driving fresh investment into an industry that is set to double revenues over the next decade. Smart contracts will automate monthly premium and interest repayments and direct profits straight to investors.
Ditto CEO Lee Parsons (pictured) said: “Musicians are often largely overlooked when it comes to traditional banking loans, or the terms are so unfavourable it isn’t worth their time. Using DeFi, Opulous cuts out traditional banking, providing musicians with a platform with minimal interest payments, while giving investors the chance to stake a claim in one of the most exciting and fastest growing financial industries in the world.”
Opulous cuts out traditional banking, providing musicians a platform with minimal interest payments
Lee Parsons
“Using blockchain technology to democratise the access to the music’s capital markets is really disruptive and unique,” added David Garcia, CEO and managing partner of Borderless Capital.
“We are excited to back the Opulous platform and for the opportunities this is bringing to investors and music artists. By building on top of the Algorand blockchain, Opulous platform will perform as one of the first real world DeFi applications.”
The idea was inspired by Ditto’s 250,000-plus users, many of whom hold their streaming revenues in their accounts and who also may not be eligible for financial support through traditional means. Opulous, which is also open those not using Ditto, provides new venture for investors while providing the option of financial support for artists who are looking to fund the next stage of their careers.
Currently in development by Ditto and RandLabs, Opulous is being built on Algorand’s public blockchain. Founded in 2017 by cryptographer Silvio Micali, Algorand is an open source public blockchain based on a pure proof-of-stake consensus protocol that supports quick, efficient and secure transactions anywhere in the world.
Opulous has already raised $1.5 million in its seed round of funding, including support from Borderless Capital, TrustVerse, Somesing, BASIC, and Kosmos Capital, with Elastos confirmed as one of the first staking partners. A minimal viable product (MVP) is expected in two months.
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