UduX and PiggyVest launch PopRev investment tool for artists

Launched in 2016, PiggyVest is a Nigerian online savings and investment platform with more than 2 million customers. The new tool enables customers to invest in music products by buying shares in musicians’ works, allowing artists to raise capital. Investors will then share in the revenues generated.

“We’re thrilled to be launching this ground-breaking platform with PiggyVest, one of the biggest success stories of the African financial tech sector of the last decade,” uduX CEO Chidi Aneto-Okeke said.

“We’ve been thinking about new and upcoming artists and the challenges they currently face. In this model we treat them like small businesses and encourage investment in them, but [most] importantly they retain control of their masters. For fans, it’s a way of sharing in the success of the music they like, and literally becoming more invested in those artists.

“PopRev will help grow the local music industry, it will see revenues flowing to Nigerian and local artists from both Nigerian and international investors, and that will feed back to the entire music ecosystem here.” 

PopRev marks the investment platform’s first ever music product. The company says it fuses elements of cryptocurrency, social networking and influencer nodes, reward mechanisms, micro-investments, real-time analytics and predictive algorithms in one comprehensive, simple and user-friendly platform. 

Fans will be able to track their investment via the uduX platform online and via the app, as well as obtain real-time insights into the streaming performance of the music they have invested in. They will also get to invite friends to listen to the artists’ music on the platform, share social media info and analytics, and win real-time experiences with artists.

PopRev is expected to launch in May and the first round of artist investment opportunities will be announced soon.

PiggyVest CEO Somto Ifezue said: “UduX are a very innovative solutions platform within the music ecosystem and we’re thrilled to work with them. This is a music business solution that builds equity for African artists and the local music industry and that will be very attractive to our investors. We believe this product will help shape a new business model of revenue generation and open up the market for more data driven investment.” 

The financing tool has been endorsed by Nigerian Afrobeats star Davido, who said: “The COVID-19 and lockdown situation made it more obvious than ever that it is not sustainable for artists to depend solely on live performances to fund and extend their art. An initiative like PopRev will afford a lot of creators who, for example struggled through the lockdown, the privilege to create without concerns of funding. This is timely and needful.”

The move adds to uduX’s growing partnerships in Nigeria. In December last year, the music streaming company partnered with MTN Nigeria to make its service more accessible to the telco’s subscribers. The company also claims to be the first African-owned streaming platform to have signed licensing deals with major record companies Sony Music, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group.