(Note: all proceeds issued from the collection of this Mirror article will be donated to our fund to support developing artists.)
Those familiar with Bolero know that our core mission is to empower artists by providing intuitive creative control over their art while altogether pushing the boundaries of each fandom all the way to actual ownership.
On our quest to share the long term wealth held in music, and as we were reaching upon company milestones, the team began searching for ways to re-actualise the emotional —and tangible— connection uniting artists and superfans alike.
The market for web 3.0 music digital assets being ever-evolving, we had the urge to entertain the idea of going beyond the realm of ordinary use-cases inherent to the NFT/music good old space. You’re thinking single editions, golden truffles, studio/music video outtakes, avatars, 3D covers, digital pressings, concert tickets and so on.
As a platform serving mainly emerging and established creators right now, Bolero has minted its own selection of collectibles. But were we truly harnessing the power of a technology that’s destined to reshape an industry?
By the end of 2021, Alain and I became obsessed with the idea of enabling creators to share actual ownership and reach beyond our Fan Token; a terrific digital medium for unlocking the lifetime value of fans. We wanted to roll out a bolder feature. One that could level the playing field within the industry, and for stakeholders across the board.
What if “sharing success with your favourite artist” was less of a gimmick and more of a slogan? Our own talkback was what we now call Song Shares (Return on Emotion).
Eventually it’ll be exactly like walking into a record shop or scrolling Spotify and being able to dig, pick and securely trade recording rights attached to the sound.
We devoted time and effort studying this business model, and grasping its implications on various levels. We acknowledged that such audacious ventures can create distrust among select industry players.
Although not a game of dare, we walk down this road with an open mind and a clean heart. We do hope to see yet another ever-evolving model challenged, constructively, and perhaps fine tune our offering so long as the artist is served first.
It’s all about timing.
The market for music catalogs is booming, with pioneers like Merck Mercuriadis / Hipgnosis leading the charge globally. Institutional investors have realised the actual long term value of these assets in times of economic uncertainty and soaring inflation across the board.
In an era where label advances are less relevant, or just a tool to accelerate artist signing to grow market share, artists turn to big music funds to sell off and administer their music assets. Some have financial obligations to fulfil, others may want to pass down their assets at the right valuation, whilst many are probably seeing their music rights as an alternative way to fund their next artistic endeavours.
In 2022, the volume of catalog transactions exceeded $5 billion, with a few remarkable deals reported:
- Sting made a splash by selling his publishing (and The Police’s), to UMPG for an estimated $250m followed by Dr. Dre at the end of 2022 closing a $200m deal for his recordings with UMG.
- David Bowie’s estate brokered $250m with Warner Chappell Music for the singer's publishing catalog. The deal included the songs featured on Bowie's 26 studio albums, posthumous releases, his two studio albums with Tin Machine and other stand-alone singles.
- Justin Bieber ($200m), The Red Hot Chili Peppers ($140m), Justin Timberlake ($100m) all selling their music assets to Hipgnosis.
This type of transactions won’t stop growing any time soon. We want to believe that despite the complexity of valuing catalogs and the emotional impact that comes with selling their creations, it can be a new safe haven for artists.
A record label for every pocket. Actually.
Now, imagine a world where the market for music catalogs is open to the general public.
Where fans have a ’forever stake’ in anthems that make up their playlist, or classics that hold a special place in their hearts.
With this new category of assets, you can own a share of it all - a real share, a percentage of the underlying intellectual property, known as the master share. A disruptive shift in the balance of power that finally empowers communities with the creators always at the forefront.
Through this revolutionary concept, each and every one of us can create our own record label, with Song Shares created and sold by artists and producers who are ready to take the leap into web 3.0.
And while the artist or producer sets the terms in a discretionary manner, we have established three rules to ensure fairness and accessibility:
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Making our proprietary valuation algorithm available to all artists seeking to determine a pricing range that’s fair, and realistic.
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Setting the barrier-to-entry as low as can be by keeping unit price affordable and accessible to everyone.
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Providing full transparency over the metadata of each song as well as visibility on music contracts they are looking to purchase.
Return on Emotion.
Our grand vision begins with Rilès, a renowned artist who not only marks the introduction of the Song Shares, but also acts as our shareholder and advisor.
Rilès will be sharing 6.3% of the master recording of his hit single 'Brothers', cumulating more than 74 millions streams and awarded SNEP platinum single.
The Song Shares of ‘Brothers’ will be offered Thursday 9th (6pm CET) at 100€ per share, giving fans the opportunity to own one or several pieces of the record.
As a company that has been at the forefront of the web3 space for the past two years, we are confident that this new practice will not only empower artists to gain more independence, but also appeal to millions of music enthusiasts worldwide.
We are grateful and honoured to mark the advent of the 'Return on Emotion' era.