Notes.fm raises $5M to help artists collect every royalty
What's the deal? Notes.fmDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a music royalty collection platform, has raised $5 million in an early-stage round backed by artists, managers, and executives across the music industry. Backers include Benny BlancoDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Zach Bryan, Tainy, WME GroupDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → executive chairman Ari Emanuel, and former Atlantic RecordsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → chief Julie GreenwaldDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. Industry firms FoundationsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Mick ManagementDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Mexican Summer, and Breakaway also participated.
What does it do? Notes helps musicians and music companies identify and collect their royalties, combining distribution, publishing admin, and money management in one release flow. The company takes 0% of distribution and publishing royalties, charging a flat monthly subscription instead.
Who's behind it? Notes is the latest venture from Stem co-founder Tim Luckow, alongside co-founder Derek Davies.
What's the endgame? The company is building what it calls "a more complete financial layer for the modern music ecosystem," pairing new releases with catalog royalty review technology that flags missing royalties for rights owners. It recently launched "Releases," a partnership with Stripe, and Credits.fmDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a free database indexing more than 150 million song codes and credits.
What's the money for? The funding will support continued platform development and scaled marketing as Notes expands globally.
What they're saying: "Music is evolving quickly, and the finance systems around it need to evolve at a faster rate," said Luckow. He added that Notes lets artists "collect every royalty from day one, and recover what's historically been missed."
The signal: Backing came "almost exclusively by artists, managers and music industry strategics," Davies said — a sign of demand among independent artists to control both their creative output and the income it generates, in a system many see as fragmented and complex.
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
