Duetti Raises $7MM to Bankroll Single-Song Acquisition Strategy

Photo Credit: Markus Winkler

Duetti, an IP-focused startup founded by former Tidal COO Lior Tibon, has reportedly raised $7 million as it prepares to begin acquiring the rights to single tracks that have made a splash on streaming platforms.

The multimillion-dollar raise from Duetti (not to be confused with Duetto) just recently came to light in a report from The Verge. At the time of this writing, Duetti didn’t appear to have issued a formal release pertaining to the raise, and its bare-bones website featured little more than a homepage.

In any event, the aforementioned Tibon and former Apple Music higher-up Christopher Nolte are said to have debuted Duetti “in stealth this summer” before beginning to discuss song-rights deals with select artists “in recent weeks.” Per the noted report, Duetti is targeting already-successful tracks with big streaming followings and plans to improve their revenue via playlists and “other forms of optimization.”

Long term, the operation purportedly intends to buy additional music IP (beyond the initial song) from the creators at hand, according to the report. As it stands, though, one artist who’s ostensibly spoken with the business disclosed to The Verge that execs were interested predominantly in a “particular song.” The unnamed track “could be worth a five-figure amount to the company,” a Duetti rep is said to have “suggested” to the same outlet.

As noted at the outset, Duetti reportedly raised $7 million to bankroll its single-song investment strategy in a July of 2022 seed round. Three-year-old VC Presight Capital reportedly participated in the round, which is said to have likewise drawn support from “an unnamed music company.”

Moving forward, it’ll be worth following the song plays of Duetti, particularly given the above-noted offer size and the focus on lone tracks that are presumably positioned to continue racking up streams (and possibly sync deals) in the foreseeable future.  

More broadly, Duetti arrives on the scene as catalog investments are continuing to close despite the state of the economy. Prominent players such as Universal Music, Warner Music, Concord, Hipgnosis, Round Hill, Reservoir, Primary Wave, and BMG (in coordination with KKR and Pimco) have in 2022 carried on with their well-documented efforts to obtain music IP.

But these companies haven’t dominated related headlines this year, as businesses including Kilometre Music Group, Influence Media Partners, Mojo Music & Media, Beyond Music, HarbourView Equity Partners, Spirit Music Group, Björn Ulvaeus’ Pophouse Entertainment, Reach Music Publishing, Exceleration Music, and Domain Capital have also purchased catalogs in 2022.

And with billions more set to reach the segment – Litmus Music, Matt Pincus’ Music, Kobalt Music, and Cinq Music owner GoDigital Media Group alone have teed up north of $1 billion to spend on music IP – evidence suggests that 2023 may bring a steady stream of transactions as well.