By: Katsuko Nakamura (January 2, 2012)

Can you imagine having the opportunity to purchase a percentage of the rights to one of your favorite band's hit songs just as if you were buying stocks in Apple? Well, Tunerights has made that scenario possible! They have incorporated the functionality of Wall Street and packaged it to the ever-evolving music industry. Tunerights calls it a "stock market for music," which is exactly what it is and delivers a real-time stock market for music copyrights.
   
How does it work? First, an artist or band registers their copyrighted music onto Tunerights and is issued 100,000 equal shares of stock per song. Secondly, users select the preferred tracks they would like to invest in, directly come to an agreement with the artist, and then purchase a percentage of the preferred track's stock. The artist and the investors share the revenue stream that is the generated from the copyrighted song. The profits from retail sales, radio plays, and even publishing deals are negotiable between the investor and the artist providing multiple moneymaking avenues to agree upon. Sounds simple right?

The life cycle for owning a percentage of the rights to an artist's song can be quite profitable. Additionally, it provides musical artists with the revenue needed to jumpstart their careers as well as have them live a modest lifestyle. Although creating a stock exchange for music is a challenge within itself, it can revolutionize the music industry. Maybe someday in the future, it will be stocks of Drake and Lady Gaga songs that crashes or revives the world market - just a thought.