Riptide Music CEO Keatly Haldeman exits, launches Web3 music sync licensing platform, Dequency – Music Business Worldwide

Dequency, which claims to be “the world’s first Web3 music synchronization licensing marketplace”, has raised $4.5 million through an investment round led by Borderless Capital.

The firm was co-founded by long-time Riptide Music Group CEO Keatly Haldeman, who has now left Riptide, and is leading Dequency full time as its CEO.

Haldeman’s new company claims to be “building a first-of-its-kind decentralized music licensing marketplace for music and visual creators”.

Speaking with MBW, Haldeman said that, “the more I’ve learned about the principles of Web3, the clearer it’s become that blockchain technology has the power to revolutionize the market for music licensing and create more opportunities for artists”.

Borderless Capital is leading the capital raise into Dequency with a $1.5 million investment.

Also participating in the round are strategic institutional partners Endeavor and Riptide Music Group, and individual investors Steve Kokinos (CEO Algorand), Vinny Lingham (Co-founder & former CEO Civic), Lyndon Rive (Co-founder & CEO Solar City), Peter Rive (Co-founder & CTO Solar City), Kimbal Musk (Founder Big Green DAO, board member SpaceX & Tesla), and Tosca Musk (Founder & CEO Passionflix).

Dequency says that the funding will go toward building out its peer-to-peer function, “enabling music creators to upload their work to the platform and directly license for use in visual art projects”.

When Dequency launches, the firm claims that its marketplace will be the “only option” to license music “on-chain for blockchain-native content” such as motion-visual NFT projects, games, and metaverse productions.

Currently in development, Dequency says that it is building its platform on the Algorand blockchain.

Founded by cryptographer Silvio Micali, Algorand is an open source public blockchain based on what Dequency says is “a pure proof-of-stake consensus protocol that supports quick, efficient, and secure transactions anywhere in the world”.

Dequency was founded in early 2021 by Haldeman and two other music industry veterans: George Howard and Mark Ross.

Haldeman is the former CEO of Riptide Music Group, a publishing company and record label specializing in the synchronization of music to picture.

Riptide’s roster includes songs by artists such as Foster The People, Selena Gomez, Migos, Quavo, Ziggy Marley, Big Gigantic, Black Flag, The Turtles, Goldfish, and Fatboy Slim.

George Howard is the former president of Rykodisc, co-founder of digital music distributor TuneCore, a Professor of music business/management at Berklee College of Music, as well as the author of 2017’s Everything In Its Right Place: How Blockchain Technology Will Lead to a More Transparent Music Industry.

Mark Ross is the CEO of ACME Innovation, which says that it creates access to the metaverse for media companies.

The firm has founded or financed a multitude of entertainment related companies and startups including Audigent, Music Audience Exchange, Riptide Music Group, Project M, and Sir George Martin’s GrandMaster Music.

“I’m pleased to share that I’ve recently stepped full-time into this mission, taking on the role of CEO of Dequency.”

Keatly Haldeman, Dequency 

Keatly Haldeman, said: “I’m pleased to share that I’ve recently stepped full-time into this mission, taking on the role of CEO of Dequency.

“I’ve had an amazing eight years as CEO of Riptide Music Group and I’m proud of our growth over that time. I’m leaving the company in great hands I know the team is going to keep crushing it for all the artists, writers and catalogs Riptide represents.”

Added Halderman in the media statement announcing the fund raise: “As the market for digital visual art grows, the addressable market for musical art grows meaningfully via sync.

“The Dequency platform facilitates communication and direct transaction between music and visual creators, giving them the opportunity to benefit from this explosion of artists entering the space.”

“At Dequency we are guided by a “purpose, not product” mindset to help creators establish and maintain sustainable careers on their own terms.”

George Howard, Dequency

Co-founder George Howard added: “Licensing of music into film, tv, or other applications in 2022 is currently akin to booking travel in 1975; inefficient, rife with unnecessary intermediaries/rent seekers, and closed off to those unable to get through the corporate gatekeepers.

“At Dequency we are guided by a “purpose, not product” mindset to help creators establish and maintain sustainable careers on their own terms.”

“We are really excited to join Dequency and support their vision of native on-chain music synchronization licensing, power the entire creator’s economy and bring it to the next level.”

David Garcia, Borderless Capital

David Garcia, CEO and Founding Managing Partner at Borderless Capital, said: “Music was part of the metaverse world even prior to the existence of the Blockchain.

“We are really excited to join Dequency and support their vision of native on-chain music synchronization licensing, power the entire creator’s economy and bring it to the next level.”

“Algorand was purpose-built to enable new economic models that remove friction and promote inclusion. Dequency’s vision of a peer-to-peer music licensing marketplace does just that – it prioritizes creators and removes inefficiencies for artists trying to build sustainable careers.”

Steve Kokinos, Algorand

Steve Kokinos, CEO of Algorand, said: “Algorand was purpose-built to enable new economic models that remove friction and promote inclusion. Dequency’s vision of a peer-to-peer music licensing marketplace does just that – it prioritizes creators and removes inefficiencies for artists trying to build sustainable careers.

“It was exciting to see them make history with the first ever on-chain sync license during Decipher this past Fall, and it’s a privilege to support them now as they enter this next phase of building out the platform.”Music Business Worldwide