Mathew Knowles, father of Beyoncé and Solange, joins advisory board at royalty marketplace ANote Music – Music Business Worldwide

ANote Music, a Europe-based marketplace for investing in music royalties, has appointed Mathew Knowles, father of Beyoncé and Solange, and Carlo Antonelli as Senior Advisers.

The appointments coincide with the closure of ANote’s bridge funding round, which will be followed by a further funding round, which is set to close in 2022, the company says.

At present, the company says its total amount raised stands at over €1.5 million ($1.7m)

Additionally, ANote completed a research, development and innovation program through which the company received €400,000 from the Ministry of the Economy of Luxembourg.

The funds will be put towards “market research purposes”, and the development of an upgraded platform the company says is due to be launched at the end of this year.

Knowles is an author, professor, entrepreneur, artist manager and founder of Music World Entertainment, and has served as Executive Producer for more than 100 award-winning, platinum and gold albums in multiple genres, says ANote.

Grouped sales from these albums have exceeded 450m worldwide, says the company, and includes works from Chaka Khan, Earth Wind & Fire, Destiny’s Child, Solange, and Beyoncé.

Antonelli, meanwhile, has been Editor-in-Chief of the Italian editions of Rolling Stone, Wired and GQ, and has also had experience working in film production.

Mathew Knowles, Senior Adviser at ANote Music, said: “Since first meeting ANote at an industry event in 2019, I’ve been thoroughly impressed by Marzio and his team’s pioneering approach to alternative funding solutions for music rights owners.

“As a new era approaches for the music industry, I am excited to play my part in entrenching ANote’s role in it.”

Mathew Knowles

“As a new era approaches for the music industry, I am excited to play my part in entrenching ANote’s role in it.”

“I’m excited to share my knowledge with the team.”

Carlo Antonelli

Carlo Antonelli, Senior Adviser of ANote Music, said: “The buzz surrounding the listing of music from Le Vibrazioni and Zero Assoluto, as well as catalogues from publishers including IRMA Records and Benvenuto Edizioni really sparked my interest in ANote.

“I’m excited to share my knowledge with the team as they help redistribute the financial balance in the music industry, while also allowing music fans to connect with their favourite artists on another level.”

“at this key transition point, we are honoured to have Mathew and Carlo join the ANote family.”

Marzio F. Schena, ANote Music

Marzio F. Schena, CEO and Co-Founder of ANote Music, added: “Despite the challenges faced, 2021 has proven to be a defining year for the growth and development of both our platform and the music industry more generally.

“Thus, at this key transition point, we are honoured to have Mathew and Carlo join the ANote family.

“Widely recognized in the entertainment industry for his innovative approach to developing and promoting award-winning artists, we look forward to harnessing Mathew’s creative spark as we continue to make waves across rights ownership and investment.

“Likewise, Carlo brings a first-class knowledge of the entertainment industry and will be a true asset when it comes to expanding our presence in our key markets.”

In recent years, Knowles has invested in, and worked closely with, the Nigerian-based music startup MePlaylist.

In March 2020, Knowles made an undisclosed investment in MePlaylist, a music streaming platform founded by Olakunle Oladehin in 2017.

In October of the same year, MePlaylist appointed Knowles and Michael Kay Kiladejo to global executive roles.

Shortly after, the company inked distribution deals with FUGA and Symphonic, adding some 7 million songs to its catalog.Music Business Worldwide