Duetti, a music investment company focused on indie music rights, has announced it has secured $114 million in new funding for the further acquisition of music catalogs.
That includes $34 million in new equity financing, led by PE firm Flexpoint Ford, with participation from existing investors Nyca Partners and Viola Ventures.
It also includes $80 million raised through the company’s first asset-backed securitization (ABS) transaction, which Duetti says was “backed by a highly diversified music rights catalog.”
The company says this marks “the first instance of independent music rights being securitized with institutional Wall Street investors.”
Barclays acted as the sole structuring and placement agent for the ABS, Duetti said in a statement on Tuesday (October 29).
“We believe we are leading the way in educating the capital markets on the significant long-term value of the independent music sector,” Co-Founder and CEO Lior Tibon said.
“The number of independent artists is growing at an unprecedented rate, and Duetti is here to ensure they have access to differentiated financing solutions.”
He added that Duetti “will now be able to utilize more diverse and efficient financing sources, enabling us to significantly expand and offer more funding options for independent artists, outside of the major label ecosystem.”
The company, which officially launched in May 2023, says it has raised $235 million so far, “more than any other music startup in the past three years.”
Following a seed funding round in the summer of 2022 that raised $7 million, the company announced a $32 million funding round in May 2023, which included investments from Viola Ventures and Viola Credit, Roc Nation, Untitled, and Presight Capital.
“We believe we are leading the way in educating the capital markets on the significant long-term value of the independent music sector.”
Lior Tibon, Duetti
Earlier this year, the company announced it had raised another $90 million. That included $15 million in new equity financing, led by Nyca Partners with participation from Viola Ventures (Duetti’s lead seed equity investor) and Cohen Circle, as well as a $75 million credit facility from Northleaf Capital Partners.
Founded by Tibon – a former COO of Tidal – and Christopher Nolte, a former Business Development executive at Apple Music, the company says it has so far partnered with some 500 artists in 30 countries, including Eleni Baker, MC Delux, Navos, Paccu, SadBoyProlific, and Savannah Dexter, offering deals ranging from $10,000 to $3 million.
Through these deals, “artists have been able to secure immediate access to the funds needed to support their careers,” Duetti said, while the company’s optimization services have helped artists maximize distribution and audience impact across all platforms, driving “significant increases in streams and visibility.”
The company says the new cash injection will help it to accelerate catalog acquisitions and expand pricing, sourcing, and marketing tech, “offering artists even better data-driven deals with fast turnarounds and impactful catalog management.”
Duetti also says it’s rapidly expanding its marketing and optimization capabilities, which includes programs such as a playlist network with almost 2 million followers on Spotify, proprietary YouTube channels, and ongoing remix launches and sync deals for film, TV, and advertising.
“Duetti has completely changed the game for me as an independent artist.”
FTO Sett
“Duetti has completely changed the game for me as an independent artist,” said FTO Sett, a Memphis-based rapper and Duetti Artist Partner.
“Not only has my partnership with Duetti allowed me to fund new projects, but the team is also optimizing my profile across streaming services to help reach a brand new audience and bring new opportunities to the table – some of my tracks saw 3x increase in streams since I partnered with Duetti. It’s hard to find a company that feels like a true partner, but Duetti has been just that for me.”
“We are proud to support the Duetti team, one of the fastest growing music rights companies in recent years, and their innovative approach to music financing as they continue to empower independent artists,” said Mike Morris, Managing Director at Flexpoint Ford, a private equity firm with $8.3 billion in assets under management.
“We see tremendous potential in their ability to provide scalable, data-backed solutions that address the evolving needs of musicians today and are looking forward to the company’s exciting growth plans.”
“We see tremendous potential in [Duetti’s] ability to provide scalable, data-backed solutions that address the evolving needs of musicians today.”
Mike Morris, Flexpoint Ford
Asset-backed securitization has existed for a long time in the broader investment arena, but is a relatively new phenomenon in music.
Acquisitive music companies have increasingly used it to accelerate their ability to acquire catalogs.
Among the most prominent music buyers to jump into ABS is Concord, which on Monday (October 28) announced the closure of its latest ABS transaction, worth $850 million.
Also on Monday, we reported that the Hipgnosis Songs Fund catalog, acquired by investment giant Blackstone in July, is being used to collateralize an ABS transaction, referred to as Lyra Music Assets (Delaware) L.P, which will see Blackstone raise $1.474 billion in debt financing.
Earlier this year, Kobalt raised $266.5 million through an ABS transaction, backed by a publishing catalog of more than 5,000 works from 66 writers.
We’ve also previously written about Duetti investor Flexpoint Ford. In December, 2023 US-based music rights investment firm GoldState Music announced what it described in a press release as a “significant investment” and a new partnership with funds managed by private equity Flexpoint Ford Asset Opportunities.
Also last year, Canada-headquartered independent music company Nettwerk Music Group announced “a significant structured investment” as well as a new strategic partnership with Flexpoint Ford.Music Business Worldwide