Shodement has secured a £10 million advance facility to back up independent UK artists.
The company, backed by Axial Capital, has finalised the advance product for users following discussions with banks in France and finance partners in the UK.
Shodement’s app for independent artists launched a year ago. The artist development platform enables users to oversee and execute a project via the tools within the app.
Shodement’s advance facility will help artists manage finances in relation to future shows, festival bookings, streaming royalties and other revenue streams. They will have the flexibility to access those revenue streams 12 months in advance.
The facility can advance up to £10 million, with Shodement’s finance partners charging percentages primarily based on the historical performance of the catalogue on streaming platforms or previous shows. The service is currently available on the Shodement App for UK artists, with plans for a global roll out following the UK launch this year.
The finance partners behind the product include Sound Royalties in Miami, who raised a $20 million fund in 2020 and provided advances for the likes of Lil Wayne, DJ Khaled, Malik, Wyclef Jean and more in the USA.
Jay Lamusica, CEO of Shodement, said: “We're very excited to launch this product for UK artists. We want this to feel like getting access to an artist-friendly record deal where you get to keep your masters, creative control and up to £10 million loaded in your account within a few clicks from your smartphone”.
The terms and conditions are strongly dependent on the artist's risk profile. The more established the artist is, the more predictable the revenues, allowing for more adventurous terms.
With many shows and tours coming up in the calendar, artists being offered to play at several shows and festivals can now apply for the advance deals to get paid for their confirmed shows in advance. Artists with significant streaming numbers can also get access to capital before royalties get paid out.
“We've had the pleasure to meet with the biggest banks in France and held important discussions with other seniors in the sector across Europe over the course of 2020 to finalise the advance service,” added Lamusica. “Other sectors are more advanced, and we're still behind in many areas. We hope our new service will allow new superstars to breakthrough. Artists receiving our advances would mean they would be ‘selling’ a percentage of their future revenue for a cash advance today whilst keeping creative control and ownership of their work, so they can scale globally immediately.”
Applications are now open via the Shodement website.