Ditto, the award-winning global music distribution and record label services company, which has processed more than $1 billion in royalties to date, has today announced Opulous: a pioneering peer-to-peer platform to help increase artists’ access to capital without the need for traditional institutions such as banks.

The first-ever decentralised finance (DeFi) offering backed by music as an asset class, Opulous will function as a loan pool which artists can borrow from and also contribute to. For those artists looking to borrow money, the loan is guaranteed against the artist’s past streaming revenues with the copyrights they own held as collateral. Meanwhile, artists, and other investors, will also be able to pay into Opulous’ Music Copyright Pools, earning 10% per annum on any contributions they make.

Opulous will use blockchain technology to connect investors with artists needing a loan, driving fresh investment into an industry that is set to double revenues over the next decade. Smart contracts will automate monthly premium and interest repayments and direct profits straight to investors. It will onboard staking from other parties to enable the widest possible backing.

The idea was inspired by Ditto’s 250,000 plus users, many of whom hold their streaming revenues in their accounts and who also may not be eligible for financial support through traditional means. Open to anyone, not just Ditto users, Opulous offers a bold new venture for investors while providing the option of financial support for artists who are looking to fund the next stage of their careers.

Currently in development by Ditto and RandLabs, Opulous is being built on Algorand’s public blockchain. Founded in 2017 by acclaimed cryptographer Silvio Micali, Algorand is an open source public blockchain based on a pure proof-of-stake consensus protocol that supports quick, efficient and secure transactions anywhere in the world.

Opulous has already raised $1.5 million in its seed round of funding, including support from Borderless Capital, TrustVerse, Somesing, BASIC, and Kosmos Capital, with Elastos confirmed as one of the first staking partners. A minimal viable product (MVP) is expected in two months.

Commenting on the launch of Opulous, Ditto CEO Lee Parsons said ‘Musicians are often largely overlooked when it comes to traditional banking loans, or the terms are so unfavourable it isn’t worth their time. Using De-fi, Opulous cuts out traditional banking, providing musicians a platform with minimal interest payments, while giving investors the chance to stake a claim in one of the most exciting and fastest growing financial industries in the world.’

‘Using blockchain technology to democratize the access to the music’s capital markets is really disruptive and unique. We are excited to back the Opulous platform and for the opportunities this is bringing to investors and music artists. By building on top of the Algorand blockchain, Opulous platform will perform as one of the first real world DeFi applications’ added David Garcia, CEO and Managing Partner of Borderless Capital.