Mogul says it has tracked $1.5B in music royalties, raised $5M in funding

Navigating the intricate landscape of music rights and royalties can be a daunting task for artists. They must ensure their data is meticulously updated across various platforms to maximize their earnings. Mogul, a startup co-founded by Jeff Ponchick, formerly of SoundCloud, and Joey Mason, ex-VP of engineering at SoundCloud, has stepped into this complex arena with a promising solution. On Tuesday, the company revealed that it has successfully tracked an astounding $1.5 billion in missed royalties for artists since its inception last year. In addition to this significant milestone, Mogul has raised $5 million in its latest funding round, led by the Yamaha Music Innovations Fund, which also saw participation from the Urban Innovation Fund, Mindset Ventures, and Fairway Capital Partners, along with continued support from existing investors like Amplify LA and Wonder Ventures. To date, the startup has accumulated over $6.3 million in funding and currently employs a team of six, with plans for expansion. Andrew Kahn, managing partner at the Yamaha Music Innovations Fund, expressed confidence in Mogul's founding team, citing their expertise in developing products that enhance artists' career management. Kahn emphasized that Mogul's competitive edge lies in its comprehensive data infrastructure. "We believe that Mogul has built the most extensive first-party data pipeline available for residual income earners," he noted, explaining that unlike many competitors, Mogul offers reliable accuracy and speed in royalty tracking. Since its launch, Mogul’s offerings have significantly evolved. Initially, the platform provided users with basic recommendations for catalog organization. However, it now delivers actionable insights, including improved list formats and cross-platform data corrections. For instance, if an artist's Sound Exchange account is linked, the platform can alert them about missing songs distributed through services like Distrokid to Spotify. Mogul's intuitive tool can even prompt users to fill in missing information automatically, streamlining the registration process. A bulk registration feature has also been introduced, allowing artists to upload data in large quantities. Ponchick noted that artists using Mogul typically experience a 20% increase in their royalty revenues. The platform has also launched a catalog valuation tool that estimates the worth of an artist's catalog across various sources, including revenue from platforms like Spotify and Apple Music. The driving philosophy behind Mogul is to empower artists in managing and monetizing their work effectively. Initially, Mogul offered a free tier, but the company has since phased it out to focus on delivering greater value to artists. Ponchick explained that while many emerging musicians utilized the free tier, it wasn't sustainable for providing the level of automation required. Looking ahead, Mogul is also exploring the complexities of tracking royalties for AI-generated music. While performing rights organizations currently permit the registration of music partially created with AI, fully AI-generated works may face challenges on certain platforms. Kahn highlighted the potential difficulties in tracking AI music, including issues related to volume, ownership, and attribution disputes. "The existing infrastructure was designed for human creators, and high-volume, probabilistic authorship could complicate the tracking and allocation of IP and royalties," he stated. As Mogul awaits developments in the regulatory landscape surrounding AI music, Ponchick is optimistic about the company’s readiness to adapt. As Mogul continues to carve out its niche, it faces competition from other platforms like Notes.fm and Claimity, while structural changes are also underway in the industry. Notably, the U.S. performing rights organization AllTrack is launching a new division in 2024 aimed at consolidating performance and mechanical royalty collection for creators.