Open Music

What Open Music does

Open Music Initiative (OMI) is a Boston-based, Massachusetts-domiciled non-profit consortium founded in June 2016 by Berklee College of Music in collaboration with MIT Media Lab, IDEO, and Context Labs. The organization develops open-source protocols and APIs for the uniform identification of music rights holders and creators, addressing chronic metadata fragmentation across the music industry that causes artists to lose royalty payments through complex chains of up to 50 intermediaries. OMI serves major record labels (Sony, Universal, Warner), streaming platforms (Spotify, Pandora, YouTube, Netflix, SiriusXM), music publishers and PROs, independent artists and composers, and educational institutions including Berklee and Lesley University.

Its core technology stack is anchored by the OMI API (Version 1.0 launched November 2017) and the RAIDAR platform (launched 2020), both built on blockchain/distributed ledger technology with a MongoDB backend and metadata architecture compliant with DDEX standards. The API supports federated search across fragmented databases to identify creators, recordings, and rightsholders, while RAIDAR provides a working licensing prototype where Berklee students and external users can license music transparently. Supporting offerings include the OMI Yellow Pages directory service, an 8-week Summer Lab innovation program that has trained 18-19 fellows per cohort from applicant pools of 50-90, and technical white papers published via arXiv.

OMI operates as a member-supported consortium rather than a commercial vendor. Its revenue mechanics rely on grants and institutional support from Berklee College of Music, with members voting in November 2019 to transition toward a standalone, member-supported organization funded by membership dues. The Open Music API is distributed open-source via GitHub and Apiary for self-serve enterprise integration, while RAIDAR serves educational users through a web application with pricing set by individual artists. Industry outreach is conducted through an annual summit (150+ attendees), hackathons with Red Bull Media House and Ace Hotels, and workshops with creative communities in cities including New Orleans and London.

Name

Open Music

Legal name

Open Music Initiative

Website

https://open-music.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Open Music Initiative is a Boston-based non-profit consortium that develops open-source blockchain protocols and APIs for identifying music rights holders, serving major labels, streaming platforms, publishers, and educational institutions with member-supported governance.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Music Rights Management Software

NAICS

Music Publishers (512230), Music Publishers (51223), Sound Recording Industries (5122), Software Publishers (5132)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

Performance Rights Administration (PRO Affiliation, Cue Sheet/Setlist Processing) (MPAIABAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Music Recognition, Lyrics & Metadata Platforms (MPAIADAK), Creator Music/SFX Asset Libraries & Licensing Platforms (MPACABAM), Game Music Licensing & Interactive/Adaptive Music Providers (MPAIALAI)

Keywords

• Music rights identification
• Open-source protocol
• Blockchain music
• Royalty tracking
• Music metadata API

Headquarters

HQ city

Boston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Membership contributions: As a non-profit initiative transitioning to a standalone member-supported organization, Open Music is exploring membership dues as a sustainability model.
2. Berklee College of Music funding: Initial and ongoing funding and institutional support from Berklee College of Music as founding supporter.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Open Music Initiative is a non-profit initiative that develops and maintains open-source protocols for the uniform identification of music rights holders and creators. Its core offerings include the OMI API (an open standard API for data sharing linking recordings, musical works, creators, and right holders, backed by blockchain/distributed ledger technology) and RAIDAR (a blockchain-based licensing platform that allows creators to upload music to a decentralized database where licensees can license works transparently).

Product overview

Open Music Initiative (OMI) is a non-profit initiative that provides a unified platform for music rights identification and compensation. The core offering consists of the OMI API (an open standard for data sharing linking recordings, musical works, creators and right holders), and RAIDAR (a blockchain-based licensing platform built on the OMI protocols). Supporting offerings include the Summer Lab educational program, the OMI Yellow Pages directory service, and technical white papers. The platform uses distributed ledger technology to enable interoperability across the music industry ecosystem.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• OMI API Open standard API enabling data sharing to identify and pay music creators. Links data associated with recordings, musical works, creators, and right holders. Stores information on a decentralized database using blockchain technology.
• RAIDAR Platform Rights and Asset Information in Decentralized, Authoritative Repositories. A blockchain-based licensing platform that allows creators to upload music to a decentralized database where those needing music can license works quickly, fairly, and transparently. Uses metadata architecture compliant with DDEX standards.
• OMI Yellow Pages A directory where member companies can list themselves, share what data they offer, and provide their API endpoints for other participants to call, facilitating industry-wide interoperability.
• Open Music Initiative (OMI) Platform A non-profit initiative creating open-source protocols for uniform identification of music rights holders and creators. It provides an open standard for data sharing to identify and pay people who make music.

Quantifiable outcome

• 2900+ hours of working group meetings conducted
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and flagship.

• Lesley UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2019Partnership for RAIDAR platform prototyping. Film and animation students from Lesley University tested and provided feedback on the Berklee/MIT prototype platform, helping refine the product for student licensing use cases.
• IBMmajorTechnology or Integration · 1 November 2018Active member presenting at 2018 Annual Summit. Peter Guglielmino, CTO of Media and Entertainment, presented on blockchain and music rights identification. IBM exploring hyperledger applications for music industry.
• PwCmajorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 November 2018Active member with representatives leading Technology/Protocol and Commercialization/Implementation working groups at 2018 Summit. Thomas Foth (Director, Emerging Technology Labs) and Kris Kersey (Director, Emerging Technologies) involved in governance.
• Red Bull Media HouseflagshipTechnology or Integration · 1 March 2018Co-sponsored hackathon series with Open Music. Hosted Stage 2 development in London offices. Built blockchain-based product for licensing and tracking videos with Red Bull-controlled music using OMI API.
• Ace HotelsflagshipGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 February 2018Partnered for artist workshops and community events. Hosted first public Open Music event in New Orleans at Three Keys venue, and artist meetup at Ace Hotel Shoreditch in London. Co-sponsored and co-hosted London event.
• Berklee College of MusiccoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2016Founded Open Music Initiative in June 2016. Provides institutional support, leadership (Panos Panay as VP of Innovation and Strategy), and acts as primary convener. Berklee holds artists at its core and has committed to supporting OMI while exploring transition to standalone organization.
• MIT Media Lab / MIT Connection SciencecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2016Co-founded initiative alongside Berklee. Alex Pentland (Toshiba Professor, Director of MIT Connection Science) is a co-author of white paper. MIT provides technical leadership, data science expertise, and blockchain/distributed ledger implementation. Thomas Hardjono serves as Research Scientist leading technical development.
• IDEOcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2016Leading design thinking partner. Co-founded initiative. Provides human-centered design methodology for Summer Lab programs and OMI working groups. IDEO Cambridge Studio hosts Summer Lab activities.
• Context LabscoreTechnology or Integration · 1 June 2016Co-founded initiative with Dan Harple (Co-founder). Provides technical expertise in distributed systems, blockchain, and interoperability standards. Facilitates working group calls and contributes to technical architecture.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Harry Fox Agency: Harry Fox Agency is the largest mechanical rights licensing administrator in the U.S., collecting royalties and distributing payments to publishers and songwriters. It addresses the same fragmented royalty-chain problem OMI targets and serves overlapping customers (labels, publishers, streaming services).
• Music Reports, Inc. Music Reports, Inc. operates the Songdex/Musical Works database and provides music rights identification, licensing, and royalty processing services to platforms, labels, and publishers. Directly comparable to OMI as a rights-data infrastructure provider, though commercially operated rather than consortium-led.
• BMAT: BMAT provides music identification, audio fingerprinting, and metadata services to broadcasters, streaming platforms, and rights organizations. Directly comparable to OMI on the music-identification and metadata-infrastructure axis, though operating as a commercial vendor.
• MusicBrainz: MusicBrainz is an open-source, community-maintained music encyclopedia and metadata database. Closest open-data analog to OMI's metadata layer and a natural interoperability partner for OMI's open protocol.

Broad incumbents

• ASCAP: ASCAP is one of the major U.S. Performance Rights Organizations, licensing public-performance rights and distributing royalties. Listed as an OMI member-type counterpart; comparison is on the PRO/rights-administration axis though ASCAP operates as a membership PRO rather than an open protocol.
• BMI: BMI is the other major U.S. PRO, performing the same rights administration and royalty distribution functions as ASCAP. Comparable as a rights-data incumbent whose systems OMI's open metadata layer would interoperate with or compete against.
• SoundExchange: SoundExchange collects and distributes digital performance royalties for sound recordings in the U.S. It is an established rights-administration incumbent with statutory powers, sitting squarely in the same rights/royalty value chain OMI seeks to modernize.
• CISAC: CISAC is the international confederation of collective rights management organizations, coordinating PROs globally on rights data standards (including IPI/ISWC). It is the closest global-governance analog to OMI on the cross-border rights-data standardization axis.
• Gracenote: Gracenote (a Nielsen company) operates the largest commercial music metadata and content-recognition database. Comparable to OMI on the music metadata layer, but as a proprietary incumbent serving the same DSP customers.

Emerging players

• Discogs: Discogs operates a community-built music database and marketplace with deep metadata on recordings and contributors. Comparable to OMI as a contributor-sourced music metadata platform, though oriented toward collectors/DJ curation rather than industry rights clearance.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• GitHubgithub.com/omi
• Instagraminstagram.com/openmusicinitiative
• Xx.com/openmusic
• Facebookfacebook.com/openmusicinitiative
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/openmusicinitiative

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Open Music