Corite Raises Millions for Fan-Friendly Blockchain Music Platform

A venture that aims to leverage fan funding to promote music projects has raised $6.2 million in its latest private token sale.

Music publisher Corite welcomed capital from an assortment of music and crypto-focused firms including Kyros Ventures, Kucoin Labs, Gate Labs, MEXC, Titan Ventures and Rarestone Capital.

The company’s blockchain-powered platform is expected to launch in the coming months, with investors pledging capital en masse in return for the project’s native digital asset $CO.

Corite Strikes Gold

The token sale saw the aforementioned entities, along with existing backers Charles Goldstuck and ChromaWay, lay their hands on a crypto-asset which will be at the centre of its soon-to-launch blockchain platform. That platform will harness the immutability and transparency of distributed ledger technology to create new revenue streams for artists via the use of non-fungible tokens and a unique “play-to-earn” model.

Dubbed Corite CO, the sister project aims to build on the fan-powered concept behind its parent company. When Corite was founded three years ago, it sought to empower fans to invest in music in return for a share of royalties. While that will remain a broad aim of Corite CO, artists will gain access to a wider range of revenue-raising tools – including the ability to mint and issue special NFTs and digital merchandise to committed supporters.

Holders of Corite CO’s native token, meanwhile, can earn rewards for contributing and participating in the governance of the project’s ecosystem. With two private token sales now complete (the company raised $2.2m last October), everyday investors will get the chance to acquire tokens on Gate.io, KuCoin, MEDX and a to-be-confirmed fourth platform.

Founded by entrepreneurs Mattias Tengblad and Emil Angervall in Stockholm in 2019, Corite supports a user base of thousands of artists and supporters, among them Danny Saucedo, Sabina Ddumba, Kid Travis and King Charles. Users can browse a vast directory of new and established artists, filtering by genre to find a musician or band they actively wish to back. Now, thanks to Corite CO, the benefits will flow in the opposite direction through merchandise, memorabilia, unique VIP experiences and NFTs that can be traded on the secondary market.

Last year, Corite expanded its influence to Europe and the US after inking a partnership with LA-based record label Hitco Entertainment. Hitco’s co-founder Charles Goldstuck is a passionate supporter of the company, saying the collaboration it fosters between artists and the fan community “points to the next chapter in the evolution of the music experience.”

Tokenized Royalty Rights

Corite is not the only company seeking to revolutionise the artist-listener relationship, and in doing so challenge the hegemony of centralised record companies. Grammy-winning rap artist Nas recently turned to NFT marketplace Royal to release a pair of songs corresponding to crypto-tokens that conferred “streaming royalty rights” on the holder.

In the Nas deal, a $50 gold-tier NFT gave holders a 0.0143% share of the track’s streaming royalties, but a $4,999 Diamond version entitled the owner to 2.14%. Additional privileges, in the form of access to a special Discord channel, are also linked to the assets. Many believe this new disruptive model could help artists exert greater control over their marketing and distribution.

Consumer demand for NFTs took the crypto world by storm last year, with one artist – 3LAU – selling one collection for $11.6 million at auction. Myriad artists and bands (Eminem, Kings of Leon, the Beatles) have subsequently entered the space, releasing NFT tracks and albums and auctioning “authentic” digital reproductions of famous costumes and instruments.

Corite’s fan-powered blockchain platform will launch in Q1, with the company keen to add more artistic talent to its roster in the meantime.

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