London-based music technology startup Audoo has raised $5 million in funding from a group of investors that includes legendary British musician Sir Elton John and his husband and manager, David Furnish.
Audoo has raised $22 million to date, which the company says will allow it to drive its global expansion and support its goal “to revolutionize public performance royalties for music creators, licensees and businesses worldwide.”
John and Furnish were joined in the latest round by global music and business including existing investors Bjorn Ulvaeus (ABBA/CISAC) and Sir Paul McCartney’s investment company, MPL Ventures, alongside Tileyard and Edinv.
The latest investment round follows Audoo’s £5.2 million ($6.4 million) series A funding round in 2020 and its £7.2 million pre-series B fundraising in 2021.
Sir Elton John, a prominent figure in the music industry with a career spanning six decades, stressed the need for accurate payments to artists.
“Working as a musician can be seen as all glitz and glamour but for the vast majority of artists, especially new and emerging acts, this isn’t the case. It’s often brutally unfair and this sadly extends into being paid correctly. Right now, artists are not being paid accurately for their plays because the data simply doesn’t exist,” the artist said.
“Right now, artists are not being paid accurately for their plays because the data simply doesn’t exist.”
Sir Elton John
“People have given up on their dreams and we’ve lost talent and future stars because of this disparity. That’s why we’ve invested in Audoo and their world-class technology and data, to help create a more transparent system for everyone, and ultimately to keep the music alive.”
The latest investment round comes after new appointments at Audoo, including Nigel Elderton as Chairman and Melanie Johnson as Chief Commercial Officer. They join the company’s growing team and board of senior experts from APRA AMCOS, BMG, Bowers and Wilkins, PRS For Music, Sony Music Publishing, and more.
Audoo, formed in 2018, joined Abbey Road’s tech start-up incubator Abbey Road Red, in 2019.
Nearly two months ago, Audoo partnered with UK-based music rights management organizations PRS for Music and PPL to enhance the distribution of music royalties to more than 300,000 artists, composers, writers, music publishers, and recording rightsholders.
Audoo says its technology addresses challenges in public performance royalty data collection and distribution through its Audoo Audio Meter and insights platform. Deployed in businesses worldwide, the meter accurately identifies music, providing data to PROs and CMOs, ultimately improving fair and accurate payments to rights holders with precision.
The technology is already present in more than 10 countries across four continents and is being rolled out in the UK, Europe, Australasia, and Africa through pioneering partnerships.
“With Elton and David’s strategic investment, we continue to champion and deliver a fairer and more transparent music industry for creatives to benefit for generations to come.”
Ryan Edwards, Audoo
Commenting on the latest round of investment, Audoo founder and CEO Ryan Edwards said: “Being able to draw on the support of artists in our mission to revolutionize the royalty space has been key to Audoo’s success. We are proud to welcome more icons to aid the next stage of our journey.”
“With Elton and David’s strategic investment, we continue to champion and deliver a fairer and more transparent music industry for creatives to benefit for generations to come. We look forward to welcoming more international partners, licensees and creators to join us on this industry-changing journey.”
Music Business Worldwide