Royalty Exchange
Royalty Exchange is a Denver-based online marketplace, founded in 2011, where music creators sell royalty income streams to a base of 30,000+ registered investors through verified auctions. The platform has facilitated over 2,500 deals and $200M+ in rightsholder capital raised, earning revenue via marketplace transaction fees.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2011
- HeadquartersDenver, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What Royalty Exchange does
Royalty Exchange is a Denver-based online marketplace that connects music creators with investors for the buying and selling of royalty income streams, including publishing royalties, producer royalties, master recording royalties, and trademark royalties. Founded in 2011, it operates an auction-style platform at auctions.royaltyexchange.com where creators list royalty assets with historical income data that is reviewed and cleared for assignment by the Royalty Exchange team, and where 30,000+ registered investors submit competing bids; the marketplace has cumulatively facilitated over 2,500 deals and more than $200M raised by rightsholders.
The platform's technology layer centers on a proprietary account-connection feature that aggregates and standardizes royalty statements from third-party royalty accounts via web-scraping tools, enabling consistent listing presentation and verification. The product surface is anchored by The eXchange auction marketplace, complemented by Instant Offer (a faster-track creator valuation and funding path), an educational content hub with 30+ articles on royalty mechanics and investing, and live Investor Office Hours sessions. Royalty Exchange is privately held, headquartered at 1550 Larimer St. #769 in Denver, led by CEO Gary Young, and compliant with GDPR and CCPA privacy regimes.
The business model is a transactional marketplace take rate: Royalty Exchange charges marketplace fees on each completed auction, with additional late-payment penalties (greater of US $500 or 2% of amount due, plus 0.05% daily interest) when buyers fail to settle on time. The platform serves two primary segments in parallel: music creators (artists, songwriters, rights holders) seeking debt-free upfront capital without surrendering catalog ownership, and individual investors seeking passive income and alternative-asset diversification. Marquee transactions include producer royalties from Lana Del Rey's Honeymoon album ($77,000 at 9.9x), publishing royalties from Tate McRae's "You Broke Me First" ($1,250,000 at 6.92x), and publishing from Khalid's debut album ($275,000 at 4.57x).
Royalty Exchange firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Royalty Exchange
- Legal name
- Royalty Exchange Inc.
- Website
- https://royaltyexchange.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2011
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Royalty Exchange is a Denver-based online marketplace, founded in 2011, where music creators sell royalty income streams to a base of 30,000+ registered investors through verified auctions. The platform has facilitated over 2,500 deals and $200M+ in rightsholder capital raised, earning revenue via marketplace transaction fees.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Royalty Exchange industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Music Royalty Marketplace
- NAICS
- Music Publishers (51223), Lessors of Nonfinancial Intangible Assets (except Copyrighted Works) (533)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Music Rights Administration & Royalty Processing (Admin, Accounting, Statements) (MPAIAKAD)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Royalty Analytics, Forecasting & Valuation Services (MPAIAKAG)
Keywords
Where Royalty Exchange is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Denver
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Royalty Exchange business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Marketplace Transaction Fees: Royalty Exchange charges marketplace fees on transactions when buyers win auctions and purchase royalty assets. The platform facilitates deals between creators selling royalty income streams and investors purchasing those assets. Fees are collected from the winning bidder along with the purchase price within two business days of winning an auction.
- Marketplace Fee (Late/Default Penalties): Additional fees charged when buyers fail to complete transactions on time, including late fees equal to the greater of US $500 or 2% of amount due, plus 0.05% daily interest until satisfied.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Auction-based marketplace pricing |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels5 records
Royalty Exchange product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Royalty Exchange operates an online auction-style marketplace where music creators (artists, songwriters, rights holders) list royalty income streams and individual investors bid on them. The platform enables creators to monetize future royalty earnings without giving up catalog ownership or taking on debt, while giving investors access to pre-vetted, verified royalty assets across publishing, producer, master, sync, and trademark royalties.
Product overview
Royalty Exchange operates as a two-sided online marketplace platform that enables music creators to monetize their royalty income streams by selling portions of their catalogs to investors, while providing investors with access to music royalty assets as an alternative investment. The core product is The eXchange, an auction-style marketplace where investors bid on royalty assets across multiple types including publishing, producer, master, public performance, and sync royalties. The Instant Offer feature provides a faster path for creators to raise debt-free capital against their catalogs. Supporting the marketplace is an educational content hub (blog and resource library) covering royalty mechanics, investor guides, and creator guides, plus live Investor Office Hours sessions. The platform serves both music creators seeking funding and investors seeking passive income, with listings spanning catalogs from artists like Lana Del Rey, Tate McRae, and Khalid.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- The eXchange (Royalty Marketplace) Core auction-style online marketplace connecting music creators selling royalty assets with investors seeking passive income. Enables direct bidding on music catalogs, publishing royalties, producer royalties, and trademark royalties, with over 2,500 deals completed and more than $200 million raised by rightsholders.
- Instant Offer A streamlined funding feature that allows music creators to receive a catalog deal estimate and raise money debt-free from their royalty assets within as quickly as one week, without giving up ownership of their songs.
- Blog and Educational Resources Educational content hub featuring articles on royalty mechanics, buyer guides, creator guides, and exchange guides to educate investors and music creators about the royalty marketplace.
- Investor Office Hours Live support sessions for investors providing guidance on evaluating, buying, and managing royalty assets on the platform.
Quantifiable outcome
- Average annualized returns exceeding 12% for investors
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Royalty Exchange
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Royalty Exchange technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration5 records
AI capability7 records
Feature2 records
Royalty Exchange partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Royalty Exchange competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- SongVest: SongVest is the only other pioneering music royalty marketplace, founded around the same time as Royalty Exchange, offering auctions of music royalties directly to investors and creators.
- ANote Music: ANote Music operates a blockchain-based marketplace for music royalty investments, enabling retail investors to buy fractional shares of royalty catalogs; directly comparable marketplace model with European focus.
- Masterworks: Masterworks runs a fractional investment marketplace for fine art and music royalties, allowing individual investors to buy shares of high-value assets; same access-to-alternatives thesis as Royalty Exchange.
- Sound Royalties: Sound Royalties provides advances and funding to music creators against future royalties; competes on the supply side by offering creators an alternative financing path to selling on Royalty Exchange.
Broad incumbents
- Hipgnosis Songs Fund: Hipgnosis Songs is one of the largest institutional acquirers of music catalogs globally; competes with Royalty Exchange by purchasing catalogs directly from rights holders rather than through a marketplace.
- Primary Wave Music Publishing: Primary Wave is a major independent music publisher and IP acquirer that signs and acquires catalogs from legacy artists; bypasses marketplace model by negotiating direct deals with rights holders.
- Concord Music Group: Concord acquired Hipgnosis Songs Fund and operates one of the largest independent music publishing and recorded music portfolios; represents scaled institutional competition for catalog transactions.
Emerging players
- Songfund: Songfund is an emerging music royalty investment platform offering fractional ownership of song rights; emerging player with overlapping offering targeting similar retail investor audience.
Others
- YieldStreet: YieldStreet is a broader alternative investment platform offering fractional access to private credit, real estate, and other assets; adjacent competitor for the retail-alternative-investor wallet that Royalty Exchange targets.
- Iconic Artists Group: Iconic Artists Group acquires and manages music IP rights from legacy artists; operates as institutional buyer in the same royalty asset market without offering a marketplace to retail investors.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Royalty Exchange social profiles
Digital presenceRoyalty Exchange compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Royalty Exchange financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Royalty Exchange leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Royalty Exchange funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds6 records
Investors2 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Royalty Exchange 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 Royalty Exchange
What does Royalty Exchange do?
Royalty Exchange operates an online auction-style marketplace where music creators (artists, songwriters, rights holders) list royalty income streams and individual investors bid on them. The platform enables creators to monetize future royalty earnings without giving up catalog ownership or taking on debt, while giving investors access to pre-vetted, verified royalty assets across publishing, producer, master, sync, and trademark royalties.
Is Royalty Exchange a public or private company?
Royalty Exchange is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Royalty Exchange founded?
Royalty Exchange was founded in 2011. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Royalty Exchange based?
Royalty Exchange is headquartered in Denver, United States, in the North America region.
How does Royalty Exchange make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Marketplace Transaction Fees are the primary driver. The others are marketplace Fee (Late/Default Penalties).
Who are Royalty Exchange's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are SongVest, ANote Music, Masterworks and Sound Royalties. Broad incumbents are Hipgnosis Songs Fund, Primary Wave Music Publishing and Concord Music Group. Songfund is listed as an emerging player. Others are YieldStreet and Iconic Artists Group.
Does Royalty Exchange have an API?
No public API is recorded for Royalty Exchange.
What industry is Royalty Exchange in?
Royalty Exchange's product category is Music Royalty Marketplace. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAIAKAD, Music Rights Administration & Royalty Processing (Admin, Accounting, Statements), with a secondary code of MPAIAKAG, Royalty Analytics, Forecasting & Valuation Services. Its NAICS code is 51223.