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The Orchard founder reveals new venture to “fractionalise ownership of music royalties”
By Chris Cooke | Published on Tuesday 1 November 2022
Scott Cohen has revealed more about the new venture he is leading following his departure from Warner Music. According to Billboard, he has taken on the role of CEO for a fintech platform that aims to facilitate the sale of fractional shares in good old song catalogues.
Cohen, perhaps best known for co-founding The Orchard digital distribution business that became Sony Music’s main services division, announced in September that he was stepping down from his most recent major label role as Chief Innovation Officer at Warner.
At the time he promised on social media that he’d announce more details about his next venture on 1 Nov. In an email to Billboard, Cohen says that that new venture seeks to “fractionalise ownership of music royalties”, allowing lower level investors to invest into music rights and revenues by buying smaller fractional shares.
Cohen adds that he has already secured rights from major artists and catalogue owners into which people will be able to invest, and that his team is now working on developing the new venture’s tech platform. In terms of a launch date, he says “we have a very aggressive timeline”.
It’s no secret that there has been increased interest in investing in music rights in recent years, of course, with various investment funds now competing with more traditional record labels and music publishers to buy into recording and song catalogues and revenue streams, especially less risky catalogues of existing hits.
A number of start-ups have explored ways to open up music copyright investments in recent years, but Cohen’s moves in this space should be particularly interesting to see.
