Music Royalties: Mogul Tracks $1.5B, Secures $5M Funding
Artists and creators constantly ask: How can I find missing music royalties? Who helps recover unpaid earnings? Mogul, a specialized royalty-tracking platform, now has answers. The company announced it has helped creators identify and recover $1.5 billion in unpaid music royalties since launching last year. Alongside this milestone, Mogul secured $5 million in new funding to expand its team and technology. For musicians navigating complex payment systems, this signals a powerful new resource for protecting their income.
| Credit: Alisha Jucevic |
How Mogul Simplifies Music Royalties for Artists
Managing music royalties shouldn't require a finance degree. Yet for most creators, tracking earnings across streaming platforms, performance rights organizations, and sync licenses feels overwhelming. Mogul was built to remove that friction. Founded by former SoundCloud leaders Jeff Ponchick and Joey Mason, the platform centralizes royalty data so artists can focus on creating, not spreadsheet audits.
The system connects directly to payout sources and uses smart matching to flag discrepancies or missing payments. Artists upload their catalogs once, and Mogul's infrastructure continuously scans for unpaid earnings. This proactive approach transforms a reactive, time-consuming task into a seamless background process. Early users report spending far less time chasing payments and more time on their craft.
For independent musicians especially, this automation is transformative. Without label support or dedicated business managers, solo artists often miss out on significant income simply due to data gaps. Mogul levels the playing field by providing enterprise-grade royalty intelligence to creators of all sizes. The result is greater financial clarity and peace of mind.
The $1.5 Billion Milestone: Recovering Lost Earnings
Reaching $1.5 billion in tracked music royalties in under a year is no small feat. This figure represents potential earnings that might otherwise have remained hidden in fragmented systems or administrative limbo. Mogul's technology doesn't just report numbers—it actively helps artists claim what they're owed. Each dollar recovered strengthens an artist's ability to invest in their career and sustain their creative work.
The milestone also highlights a broader industry challenge: royalty data is often siloed, inconsistent, or delayed. When metadata is incomplete or platforms fail to match recordings correctly, payments stall. Mogul addresses this by building a unified data layer that cross-references multiple sources in real time. This reduces the "black box" nature of music payments and brings transparency to a historically opaque process.
Artists aren't just seeing more money—they're gaining confidence in their revenue streams. Knowing that a dedicated system is monitoring their royalties allows creators to plan tours, fund recordings, or simply cover living expenses with greater certainty. In an industry where income can be unpredictable, that reliability is invaluable.
Inside the $5 Million Funding Round Led by Yamaha
Mogul's $5 million funding round was led by the Yamaha Music Innovations Fund, with participation from Urban Innovation Fund, Mindset Ventures, and Fairway Capital Partners. Existing backers Amplify LA and Wonder Ventures also rejoined the round. This vote of confidence from both music industry veterans and tech-focused investors underscores Mogul's potential to reshape how creators manage earnings.
Yamaha's involvement is particularly strategic. As a global music technology leader, Yamaha brings deep industry connections and technical expertise. Andrew Kahn, managing partner at Yamaha Music Innovations Fund, emphasized that Mogul's founding team has the rare combination of product vision and operational experience needed to solve royalty complexity. Their background at SoundCloud means they understand both creator needs and scalable infrastructure.
The fresh capital will fuel team growth and product development. With only six employees today, Mogul plans to expand engineering, artist support, and partnerships. This scaling is critical as more creators join the platform and data volumes grow. The funding also signals market validation: investors see royalty transparency not as a niche tool, but as essential infrastructure for the future of music.
Why Data Accuracy Matters in Royalty Tracking
At the heart of Mogul's value is its data pipeline. Unlike platforms that rely on third-party aggregators or limited integrations, Mogul builds direct connections to payout sources. This first-party approach ensures higher accuracy and faster identification of discrepancies. In royalty tracking, even small data errors can mean missed payments that compound over time.
Accuracy also builds trust. Artists need to know that the platform monitoring their income is reliable. Mogul's system continuously validates matches between recordings, rights holders, and payment records. When conflicts arise—such as duplicate registrations or outdated metadata—the platform flags them for resolution. This proactive quality control prevents small issues from becoming costly losses.
Moreover, clean data benefits the entire music ecosystem. When rights information is consistent and up to date, licensing becomes smoother, collaborations are easier to manage, and new revenue opportunities emerge. Mogul isn't just helping individual artists; it's contributing to a more efficient, transparent industry infrastructure. That systemic impact is what attracts both users and investors.
What's Next for Mogul's Growth and Artist Support
With new funding secured, Mogul's roadmap focuses on three key areas: expanding global coverage, enhancing user experience, and deepening artist resources. The platform aims to support more territories and payment types, ensuring creators worldwide can benefit from its tools. Mobile optimization remains a priority, recognizing that many artists manage their careers on the go.
User experience improvements will include clearer dashboards, customizable alerts, and simplified onboarding. The goal is to make royalty management intuitive—even for those new to music business fundamentals. Mogul also plans to offer educational content and support to help artists understand their rights and maximize earnings. Knowledge, after all, is power in the royalty landscape.
Long-term, Mogul envisions becoming the central hub for creator monetization. Beyond royalty recovery, the platform could integrate budgeting tools, tax guidance, or collaboration features. By starting with the critical pain point of unpaid earnings, Mogul builds trust that can support broader financial empowerment for artists. As the music industry evolves, having a partner that grows with creators will be essential.
The journey to fair, transparent compensation for artists is ongoing. But with $1.5 billion in music royalties already tracked and fresh investment fueling innovation, Mogul represents meaningful progress. For creators tired of leaving money on the table, the message is clear: your earnings matter, and now there's a smarter way to protect them. In a world where every stream counts, that's not just helpful—it's essential.
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