A music technology startup called Mogul has announced it has helped artists track $1.5 billion in previously lost royalties since its launch last year. The platform, founded by former SoundCloud executives Jeff Ponchick and Joey Mason, also revealed it has raised $5 million in a new funding round.
The investment was led by the Yamaha Music Innovations Fund, with participation from the Urban Innovation Fund, Mindset Ventures, and Fairway Capital Partners. Existing investors Amplify LA and Wonder Ventures also contributed, bringing Mogul's total funding to over $6.3 million.
Data-Driven Solution for Royalty Complexity
Mogul addresses the notoriously complex world of music rights, where artists often miss earnings due to incorrect or missing data across multiple platforms. The company's core advantage, according to investors, is its comprehensive data pipeline.
“We believe that Mogul has built the most comprehensive, first-party data pipeline that exists for residual income earners,” said Andrew Kahn, managing partner at Yamaha Music Innovations Fund. He emphasised that unlike competitors with "limited connectivity to payers," Mogul offers superior accuracy and speed in tracking royalties.
Platform Evolution and User Impact
The platform has evolved from offering basic recommendations to providing actionable insights. It now identifies discrepancies, such as songs distributed to Spotify not being registered with performance rights organisations like SoundExchange, and can complete registrations on behalf of users.
“On average, users have seen a 20% bump in their royalty revenues by using Mogul,” stated co-founder Jeff Ponchick. The company has also introduced a bulk registration tool and a catalog valuation feature, which estimates an artist's catalog worth across recording and publishing, broken down by individual tracks and revenue sources like Spotify and Apple Music.
Strategic Shifts and Future Challenges
To ensure sustainability, Mogul has discontinued its free tier. The company is now focusing on providing greater value to professional artists who can benefit most from its automation tools.
Looking ahead, Mogul is preparing for the challenges posed by AI-generated music, which could create volume complexity and ownership disputes in royalty tracking. “The current infrastructure was built for a human creator ecosystem,” noted Kahn. While awaiting clearer regulations, Ponchick stated the company is well-positioned to track royalties for any kind of music.
The startup operates in a competitive space alongside platforms like Notes.fm and Claimity, and faces structural changes in the industry, such as the 2024 launch of AllTrack's new division for collecting performance and mechanical royalties.
Mogul, which currently has a team of six, plans to use the new funding to grow its staff and further develop its platform.