Bolero
Bolero is a Paris-based music rights investment platform, founded in 2021, that enables retail and professional investors to buy fractional Song Shares and Catalog Shares via a Base-blockchain marketplace, settling in USDC, with automated royalty collection from 15+ revenue streams.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2021
- HeadquartersParis, France
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What Bolero does
Bolero (legally Bolero Music SAS) is a Paris-based music rights investment platform founded in 2021 that enables fractional ownership of master and publishing rights. The platform exposes two asset formats — Song Shares (single-track exposure) and Catalog Shares (full-catalog baskets) — issued and traded on a primary and secondary market at a €100 minimum entry point, with USDC stablecoin used for settlement on a decentralized architecture built on the Base blockchain (Coinbase Layer 2). Bolero claims a community of 25,000+ individual investors and 100+ businesses, access to 3,500+ works, a weighted average yield of 9.33% on Catalog Shares since 2023, and yields targeted between 7.5% and 20% per asset. The company curates supply through direct publisher/producer relationships (Low Wood, Jouuue, Le Motif, NKN Records, JUNE TO NOVEMBER LLC) and has brought a major-label catalog (Capitol Music/Universal Music France) onto the platform via French Drill Vol. 1.
The business model is transaction-fee based on primary-market issuance and secondary-market trading, supplemented by catalog listing/curation services and professional services to wealth managers. Go-to-market combines a self-serve web platform (boleromusic.com) with a dedicated wealth-partner channel for financial advisors (Clint Capital, Ivy Patrimoine), a community-led content engine (glossary, blog, community stories), and bilingual EN/FR marketing supported by earned media in Le Figaro, Billboard, Rolling Stone, Les Echos, and BFM Business. The company has raised approximately $4.1M across multiple funding tranches from 2021 to 2024, led by XVC Tech and Newfund, and operates with 1–10 employees — co-founders William Bailey (CEO) and Arthur Amon (CTO) lead the team. The platform is in active country-by-country rollout, with the signup page signalling that geographic availability is still being expanded.
Bolero firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Bolero
- Legal name
- Bolero Music SAS
- Website
- https://boleromusic.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2021
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Bolero is a Paris-based music rights investment platform, founded in 2021, that enables retail and professional investors to buy fractional Song Shares and Catalog Shares via a Base-blockchain marketplace, settling in USDC, with automated royalty collection from 15+ revenue streams.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Bolero industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Music Rights Investment Platform
- NAICS
- Music Publishers (51223), Music Publishers (512230), Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (522320)
- SIC
- Security Brokers, Dealers & Flotation Companies (6211), Finance Services (6199)
- akta.pro primary industry
- IP, Royalties & Revenue-Share Tokenization (FSADAEAJ)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Royalties, Rights & Revenue Management (on-chain royalties, splits, licensing, enforcement) (FSAPAFAC), Crypto Payments & Stablecoin Settlement Platforms (BPAMAFAL), In-Game Wallets, Stored Value & Virtual Currency Issuance (MPAFAJAB)
Keywords
Where Bolero is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Paris
- HQ country
- France
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Bolero business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Transaction fees on primary and secondary market: Bolero generates revenue through fees on the purchase and sale of Song Shares and Catalog Shares on both the primary market (new issues) and secondary market (trading between investors). Investors place buy/sell orders with the platform facilitating transactions.
- Catalog listing and curation services: Bolero curates master and publishing rights for artists, producers, and publishers listing their catalogs on the platform, providing catalog selection, valuation, and listing services in exchange for fees or revenue share.
- Wealth partner and professional services: Bolero offers bespoke music investment strategies to wealth managers and financial advisors, delivering specialized professional services for portfolio diversification with music rights assets.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Music rights investment starting from 100 € |
| Outcome Based/ Performance | Pay-as-you-go | Initial yields range from 7.5% to 20% |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Older entry threshold: build catalogs starting from $10 |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
Bolero product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Bolero operates a decentralized investment platform that enables individuals and wealth professionals to buy fractional ownership of music rights in the form of Song Shares (single-song investments) and Catalog Shares (multi-song catalog baskets). The platform automatically collects royalties from 15+ revenue streams (streaming, synchronization, public performance, etc.) on behalf of investors and settles transactions in USDC stablecoin on the Base blockchain. Since 2021, it has served over 25,000 individual investors and 100+ wealth-partner businesses with curated music rights offerings.
Product overview
Bolero is a music rights investment platform organised as a single unified platform with named asset-class modules. The core platform is the Bolero app (app.boleromusic.com), on which two product formats — Song Shares (single-song investments) and Catalog Shares (catalog-level investments) — are issued and traded across a dedicated Primary Market and Secondary Market. The platform supports distinct user tracks for retail investors, creators, and wealth partners, with a decentralised blockchain-based infrastructure, USDC stablecoin settlement, and a proprietary valuation methodology that targets initial yields of 7.5% to 8%+ (with a 9.33% weighted average yield since 2023). Since 2021, Bolero has used this platform-plus-modules architecture to serve over 25,000 individual investors and 100+ businesses.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Song Shares Investment shares tied to the royalties of a single song, carrying either master rights or publishing rights as the underlying. Investors earn a proportional share of revenue each time the track is streamed, broadcast, or licensed. Targets investors seeking high-conviction exposure to a specific song's commercial performance.
- Catalog Shares
- Primary Market
- Secondary Market
- Bolero Platform
Quantifiable outcome
- +25,000 individual investors and +100 businesses onboarded
- +6 more outcomes
Companies that use Bolero
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Bolero technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration6 records
Feature6 records
Bolero partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
13 partnerships are on record, tiered major recent listing, flagship inaugural partner, major label partner, catalog partner, core infrastructure partner, flagship wealth partner (case study), featured wealth partner, core data/revenue integration partners and featured artists (not commercial partners).
- NKN Recordsmajor recent listingNKN Records is the rights-holder for the 'French Drill Vol. 1' Catalog Shares, featuring 1PLIKÉ140. Co-produced and distributed by Capitol Music (Universal Music France), the catalog covers the 2020-2023 period in full-term master rights with over 473M streams and a 16.23% estimated yield.
- Low Wood Publishingflagship inaugural partnerLow Wood Publishing listed the 'Low Wood' (LWD) catalog on Bolero, comprising 119 songs including works performed by Janie, Barbara Pravi, Aya Nakamura, Youssoupha, La Fouine, Madame Monsieur, Slimane, Bilal Hassani, and Kungs. It was one of the three inaugural Catalog Shares at launch in November 2024.
- Jouuue Publishingflagship inaugural partnerJouuue Publishing listed the 'Jouuue' (JOUE) catalog on Bolero, comprising 630 songs including works performed by Yseult, Amel Bent, Hatik, Laylow, So La Lune, Jok'Air, Genezio, and Caballero & Jean Jass. One of the three inaugural Catalog Shares.
- LEMOTIF LTDflagship inaugural partnerLEMOTIF LTD listed the 'Le Motif' (LMTD) catalog on Bolero, comprising 267 songs including works performed by Ozuna, Beny JR, Morad, JuL, Gazo, Tiakola, Fally Ipupa, Meryl, Shay, and M Pokora. One of the three inaugural Catalog Shares.
- Capitol Music (Universal Music France)major label partnerCapitol Music (Universal Music France) co-produces and distributes the French Drill Vol. 1 catalog (1PLIKÉ140/NKN Records), bringing the major-label catalog to the Bolero platform with full-term master rights.
- JUNE TO NOVEMBER LLCcatalog partnerJUNE TO NOVEMBER LLC is the publisher listed for the 'Immensum' (DVDO) Catalog Shares on the Bolero platform.
- Lo Jonescatalog partnerLo Jones is the publisher listed for the 'USA Vol. 1' Catalog Shares on the Bolero platform, a 104+ track R&B/Pop catalog from the 2000s including works by Mario Winans, Usher, Ginuwine, Jennifer Lopez, Lil' Kim, and Beyoncé.
- Base blockchain (Coinbase L2)core infrastructure partnerBolero uses the Base blockchain to tokenize music rights and enable exchange of fractional ownership with reduced fees and increased reliability. Base is a Coinbase Layer 2 network.
- Clint Capitalflagship wealth partner (case study)Clint Capital is a wealth management firm whose partner Lucas Mesquita is a featured Bolero testimonial. They use Bolero to provide clients with rare music rights assets, adhering to their principle of offering few but high-quality exclusive investments.
- Ivy Patrimoinefeatured wealth partnerIvy Patrimoine is a wealth management firm founded by Yohan Guy, with a client base that includes a significant share of artists and music industry professionals. Featured in the first Bolero Partners episode on integrating music rights into allocation strategies.
- Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Deezer, Soundcloud, Qobuzcore data/revenue integration partnersThese streaming platforms serve as primary revenue collection sources for music rights on Bolero, generating the bulk of royalty flows (streaming represents 80% of master rights revenues). Bolero collects royalties on behalf of investors from these entities.
- SACEM (and other collective management organizations)core data/revenue integration partnersSACEM and other collective management organizations (e.g., ASCAP) collect and distribute public performance royalties from concerts, radio, TV, and foreign territories. Bolero relies on these CMOs to capture publishing rights royalties on behalf of investors.
- Aya Nakamura (performer), Jul, Gazo, Booba, Damso, Shay, Meryl (performer of catalog works)featured artists (not commercial partners)These artists are mentioned as performers of works listed on the Bolero platform via Catalog Shares (e.g., 'Pookie' by Aya Nakamura, 'Le Motif' catalog featuring Jul, Gazo, Booba, Damso, Shay, Meryl). Bolero clarifies these are not partnerships or capital links.
Scale indicators16 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Bolero competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Royalty Exchange: The largest US-based marketplace for buying and selling music royalties, allowing investors to bid on fractional royalty rights. Royalty Exchange is the most direct competitor in the music rights fractional ownership space, with a similar marketplace model but without blockchain tokenization.
- ANote Music: European marketplace for music royalties with a regulated security token structure on a blockchain, enabling fractional ownership of music rights. Comparable to Bolero in both asset class (music royalties) and tokenization approach (regulated security tokens).
- Opulous: Web3 platform offering music NFT sales, royalty tokenization, and artist lending on the Algorand blockchain. Competes with Bolero on blockchain-based music rights ownership, though focuses more on NFTs and artist-facing products.
- Songfund: Platform offering fractionalized investment in music royalties to retail investors. Competes directly with Bolero's Song Shares product with a similar minimum-investment, single-song exposure model.
- Vezt: Early blockchain-based platform for fractionalizing song royalties through smart contracts, allowing fans and investors to buy into music IP. A direct predecessor in the tokenized music rights space where Bolero now operates.
Broad incumbents
- Hipgnosis Songs Fund: London-listed investment fund that acquires music catalogs with over $2.5B in deployed capital, managed by Merck Mercuriadis. The dominant institutional acquirer of music rights — Bolero's mass-market retail counterpart at the institutional end of the market.
- Primary Wave Music: Major independent music rights management and acquisition company with hundreds of millions in AUM, owning rights to catalogs of Whitney Houston, Stevie Nicks, and others. A broad incumbent competing for the same supply of catalog rights that Bolero curates.
- Concord Music Group: Independent music publisher and rights holder with a deep catalog of iconic recordings and publishing rights, competing on the supply side for the same catalog assets that Bolero is seeking to list on its platform.
Regional players
- Sound Royalties: Royalty financing company providing funding to musicians in exchange for a share of their streaming royalties. Operates a different model (artist-side funding vs. investor-side marketplace) but is adjacent in the music rights monetization ecosystem.
Emerging players
- Audius: Web3 music streaming platform using blockchain tokens (AUDIO) to align artist and listener incentives. Adjacent to Bolero's blockchain-based music thesis though focused on streaming distribution rather than royalty investment.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Bolero social profiles
Digital presenceBolero financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Bolero leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Bolero subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Bolero funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds5 records
Investors3 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Bolero M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Bolero
What does Bolero do?
Bolero operates a decentralized investment platform that enables individuals and wealth professionals to buy fractional ownership of music rights in the form of Song Shares (single-song investments) and Catalog Shares (multi-song catalog baskets). The platform automatically collects royalties from 15+ revenue streams (streaming, synchronization, public performance, etc.) on behalf of investors and settles transactions in USDC stablecoin on the Base blockchain. Since 2021, it has served over 25,000 individual investors and 100+ wealth-partner businesses with curated music rights offerings.
Is Bolero a public or private company?
Bolero is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Bolero founded?
Bolero was founded in 2021. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Bolero based?
Bolero is headquartered in Paris, France, in the Europe region.
How does Bolero make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Transaction fees on primary and secondary market is the primary driver. The others are catalog listing and curation services and wealth partner and professional services.
Who are Bolero's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Royalty Exchange, ANote Music, Opulous, Songfund and Vezt. Broad incumbents are Hipgnosis Songs Fund, Primary Wave Music and Concord Music Group. Sound Royalties is listed as a regional player. Audius is listed as an emerging player.
Does Bolero have an API?
No public API is recorded for Bolero.
What industry is Bolero in?
Bolero's product category is Music Rights Investment Platform. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSADAEAJ, IP, Royalties & Revenue-Share Tokenization, with a secondary code of FSAPAFAC, Royalties, Rights & Revenue Management (on-chain royalties, splits, licensing, enforcement). Its NAICS code is 51223 and its SIC code is 6211.