Expediting Royalty Distribution for Emanate, a Music Platform

Overview

The digital revolution has transformed the way music is consumed worldwide. With the popularity of streaming growing every year [1], music distribution and streaming platforms have come to occupy a place of prominence in the recorded music industry [2].

Nium is working with Australian music platform, Emanate, to disburse instant royalties to musicians and artists. “As a music community dedicated to increasing speed and fairness for our artists through technology, Emanate is excited to be able to use a progressive and financial services product like Nium,” said Sean Gardner, CEO Blockchain Music Pty Ltd (Emanate). Through their partnership with Nium, Emanate can now give musicians near real-time access to streaming royalties via their corporate StreamCard.

The Challenge

Digital streaming has globalised and democratised music, opening up a world of opportunities for musicians. The pandemic has only spurred this transformation — with live concerts and events being prohibited, streaming platforms are now enabling new monetisation methods [3]. However, royalty payment distribution hasn’t evolved much over the last fifty years [4]. Even today, payments can be a major pain point for musicians, producers and songwriters.

Limitations of cross-border transactions 

The inefficiencies of traditional cross-border payment methods don’t allow musicians to choose their preferred method and currency of payments. For international contributors from underbanked regions, this problem is intensified by the fact that local banks may not accept foreign methods of payment.

Lack of transparency in the payout process

The complexity of the online music business and the music copyright landscape affect the transparency of the payment process. In most cases, payments are not accompanied by a comprehensive statement, making it impossible for the recipient to decipher the fees they’ve incurred.

Thus, while there is immense potential for musicians and music platforms to thrive in the digital age, the lacunae in payment systems pose a major roadblock. A global payout platform that addresses these royalty distribution issues can be a game-changer for artists and music platforms.

“At Emanate, we are determined to reduce the time between music consumption and the artist getting paid. Our technology dissolves the major friction that exists in the music industry. The Nium platform simply takes that innovation and puts right into the palms, pockets and wallets of the artist.” – Sean Gardner, CEO Blockchain Music Pty Ltd (Emanate)

Why Emanate Chose Nium

By collaborating with Nium, music streaming companies can promise instant royalty payouts and incentivise more artists to publish music on their platform. “At Emanate, we are determined to reduce the time between music consumption and the artist getting paid. Our technology dissolves the major friction that exists in the music industry. The Nium platform simply takes that innovation and puts right into the palms, pockets and wallets of the artist,” said Emanate CEO, Sean Gardner. The near real-time disbursal of payments to artists will also reduce the incidence of unclaimed and black box royalties.

Nium is a licensed Visa card issuer partner. This means that companies can take advantage of Nium’s payment rails along with Visa’s global licence network to issue branded debit cards to artists in as little as four weeks. Licensed in 9 countries and the European Union, Nium also provides program management and advance card capabilities to BIN sponsors virtually anywhere in the world. Thus, Nium enables businesses to:

• Ensure timely payments with 24/7 processing
• Move from multi-leg payments to point-to-point with Nium’s local ACH networks
• Save on small payouts and cross-border payments
• Enable multi-currency fund transfer to payees with multi-pocket/wallet spend features
• Control FX conversion rates on cross-border transactions

“This will change the lives of our musicians from day one. Imagine releasing a song in the morning, and that night your plays cover a round of beers with your friends to celebrate. It’s never been done before.”

Sean Gardner, CEO, Blockchain Music Pty Ltd (Emanate)

How did Emanate transform royalty payouts with Nium’s payment solutions?

Nium’s revolutionary platform has transformed various businesses across sectors. Here’s how Emanate benefited by partnering with Nium and how your business can to:

Instant and Transparent Payments

With Nium’s secure VISA payment rails, payouts are quick, unlike bank transfers. Transactions can be approved in real-time; funds can be sent to the beneficiary’s VISA cards (in nearly 38 markets) as soon as their content is consumed on the platform. The status of each transaction can be reviewed almost instantaneously, making the process transparent and trustworthy.

“This will change the lives of our musicians from day one. Imagine releasing a song in the morning, and that night your plays cover a round of beers with your friends to celebrate. It’s never been done before,” said Sean Gardner.

Virtual and Physical Cards

Nium’s card-issuing program allows music platforms and companies to provide artists with unique logins and personal debit cards – both physical and virtual. With the Nium-powered Emanate StreamCard, fees are topped up automatically once the artists’ music has been played, enabling them to access and use the funds across all Visa’s points of sales.

“85% of our artists plan to use the card when it is available in their country,” said Sean Gardner.

Access To Underbanked Markets

Nium allows globally-dispersed artists to receive their royalties in real-time. Thus, streaming platforms can attract and onboard even those musicians residing in areas with limited banking facilities.

Ease of Repeating Transactions

Recurring payments can be made to the same list of beneficiaries without requiring card details repeatedly. Once the payment details of the beneficiary are entered, Nium’s PCI compliant platform is able to manage and store that card data for all future transactions.

Superior Security

Nium allows users to manage the program’s security in one place with features like card lock/unlock, geolocation data and cardholder permissions. Nium’s platform is DSI compliant and all transfers are end-to-end encrypted, which enhances the safety and transparency of transactions.

How It Works

1. Setup: After integrating Nium, businesses can set up and define their program using limits and controls.
2. Share: Once the program is complete, management can assign cards and login details to each payee.
3. Fund: Payees’ cards are topped up automatically when their music is played.
4. Spend: Payees can spend the funds across all Visa’s points of sales.
5. Track: Each payment is automatically tracked, logged and made into expense reports that the company can monitor.

More about Nium:

Nium, formerly known as InstaReM, began in 2015 to simplify and optimise cross-border payments. Nium eventually scaled the offering to serve SMEs and businesses in multiple industries.

Today, Nium utilises radically innovative technology that makes spending, receiving, and managing funds faster, cheaper, and more transparent. It’s designed to integrate with our customer’s lives and business needs seamlessly.

We have experts on the ground working with local regulators and financial institutions. With offices worldwide, we are in a position to foster these relationships.

Connect With The Future of Payments:

Contact us to learn how Nium’s business expense cards can streamline and automate your corporate finances.

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