Making money from your music has never been more difficult, and the complexity of the issue only seems to be growing.
Returns from streaming continue to dwindle, producing physical media can be financially and logistically cumbersome, and as of July 1 this year, exporting music from the UK just got even more expensive thanks to the introduction of a new flat fee on music exports from the UK to the EU. It can be easy to get despondent, but there are still options and innovations. Step forward Dwight Okechukwu, who recently launched Strade Base—a platform which turns streaming royalties into an investable asset, connecting artists with fans and investors.
The bottom line, in the briefest possible terms, is that Strade Base allows artists to sell a percentage of their future streaming income, giving fans and investors the opportunity to buy a stake and earn royalties as the music generates revenue. The user gets either a cut of the profits or rewards determined by the artist, and in return the artist gets their money upfront with no middlemen.
The platform officially went live last year and they already have a growing userbase, including Wretch 32, D Double E, Tiwa Savage, Duppy and Jme (who recently sold shares in his track, “Integrity”). Another key front in the Strade Base model is the role played by people like Capital Xtra DJ Manny Norté, who has joined the music platform in a tastemaker capacity. With Manny’s help, artists can get a spotlight on their track to boost investors and maybe even radio play.
We caught up with Dwight andManny recently to discuss Strade Base, how it’s working with the music industry’s existing infrastructure, and what its long-term future looks like.
COMPLEX: Manny, let’s start with you—how did you get involved with Strade Base?
Manny Norté: Well, Dwight and I were already working together in an event capacity, doing events at the Playhouse on 30 Dean Street. He was telling me about the Strade Base app that he created to give artists a new way to interact with their fans and sell shares of their songs. At the same time, I was constantly being sent music. My DMs and emails are flooded every day with artists wanting me to listen, give feedback or support their tracks. So we thought, “Why not just put it through the actual app?” Dwight is a very tech-savvy guy, so it was a perfect combination. It was like a lightbulb went off. And before you knew it, there was a whole new page and a whole new section—Strade Discovery—for people to get their music submissions to me.
When I heard you were involved, I thought that was such a great addition to have someone advocating for the music and making it more than just transactional.
Manny: Exactly that. So it’s not my DJ inbox, but it’s almost like my emails and my DMs on steroids [laughs]. Aside from me being able to message the artist directly, they’re uploading their track to an interactive playlist where the community can also hear a snippet of the song on the Discovery feed. I’m not playing everything because I can’t. I’ve got a variety of playlists, like Manny’s Top 10 and Open Mic. If it’s good, then I’ll champion the artist and the songs properly. And if it’s really good, I might even play it on my shows on Capital Xtra. On top of that, we’ve got the live aspect as well. We do our night at the Playhouse on 30 Dean Street, where select artists are invited to come down and perform their track. So it’s a whole movement of what we’re trying to do under the same umbrella of Strade Base linking with Manny Norté.
Dwight, I want to talk a bit about your background. Is it primarily in tech or finance? Because, obviously, there’s a financial element to what you’re doing with Strade Base.
Dwight Okechukwu: My background’s actually a mix of tech, music and finance. I’ve been working in tech for around 20 years. It’s funny, because this August marks 20 years since I launched my first-ever tech platform, One Mic, which was with Channel U. It was the same kind of playlist and discovery platform, and I just never let the idea go because I thought it was a good one back then. I’ve been trying to find a way to bring that back ever since. Initially, me and Skepta, whom I managed for four years, started the whole Strade Base idea; we were talking about how to champion up-and-coming artists and give them a platform to showcase their music and earn from it as well. We took the idea to Jme, who said it was a good idea if it could be done. Because of my tech background, I knew it could, so I decided to take it on and, fast forward a few years, Jme launches it, making history as the first artist on Strade Base.
What’s been the reaction from the streaming services like Spotify and Apple, as well as the record labels?
Dwight: We’re not trying to replace streaming services, distributors or labels. We’re building an additional layer around the music economy. The Orchard understood the vision very early on and we have a distribution partnership with them. They really understand what we’re trying to do because, at the end of the day, we’re working with grassroots artists. It’s difficult for traditional labels to invest in artists who might only need two or three grand to get to the next level. But what happens to those artists? Are you just going to leave them out there and let them lose momentum? We created a space where they can access that funding. So, for us, there’s no competition. We want to work with labels, organisations, managers, DSPs—we want to work with everyone! We’ve created something for the underdogs, but we also work with established artists, where they can use their position to support other artists. Look at Jme, for example: he gave away 100% of his royalties to his fans. If you’re giving away royalties and people are collecting dividends from them every month, that’s an established artist making the model work for him. The technology can be used for funding, fan engagement, rewards and ownership experiences. Ultimately, we want Strade Base to work alongside the existing music industry. The bigger the ecosystem of partners around the artist, the more useful the platform becomes.
Manny, you’ve actually produced and released your own music over the years, too. Have you got plans to release any new music and put it through Strade Base?
Manny: 100%! That’s exactly what it’s for. I’ll be uploading a lot of stuff, including the next single I’m working on. Me and Strade Base are partners, so we’re doing a lot together for my projects and other people’s projects. I’m excited for what’s to come, to be honest. It’s for the people. We care about the actual culture of the scene and the new, up-and-coming artists that don’t feel seen or heard. I’m established now, and I’m grateful for the position I’m in, but, as the great Spider-Man says, “With great power comes great responsibility.” So I’ve got a duty to do this because a lot of people don’t know where to start when it comes to contacting me or getting me to hear their music. I can’t get back to everyone, but this is where I put my neck on the line and say, “Alright, cool. If it’s on Strade Base and I’m shouting about it, then I’m really screaming about it.” We’re posting, we’re advertising what this is, and I’ve got to really talk about it and give people feedback where I can. That’s the whole point: to create a space where these artists can actually be seen, heard and supported.
Dwight: The good thing, James, is that even if the DJ misses it, we can give them a nudge—almost like their A&Rs—giving the artist more opportunity to be heard.
Manny: I think of us as the Avengers—myself, Strade Base, Dwight and the team. We’re combining powers, we’ve got the same direction, and we just want greatness. We want to win, but more importantly, we want to put on for the culture and put numbers on the boards. Because who knows? We could discover the next smash record, the next superstar.
Tell me about some of the biggest success stories you’ve seen come through the app.
Dwight: I’ve seen artists raise a lot more money than what their streams would have given them through the usual platforms. I’ve seen artists with literally zero streams upload their music and make money the same day, then withdraw it within minutes. We pride ourselves on having the fastest payouts. Artists can receive their money within minutes of a sale, directly into their bank account. We know people want access to their money now, not days or weeks later. So, apart from fans benefiting from drops like Jme, some of the success stories we’ve seen are artists who are able to make more than what their streams would ordinarily generate. I’ve seen artists on the platform who might make £1,000 from a track over the course of a few years, then they upload something to Strade Base and make that within a week. What they’re selling is access in a way that streaming can’t provide.
For example, “Murkle Man” by Jammer is listed on the platform. That track is 20 years old. It’s a classic, obviously, but because there weren’t any streaming platforms around when it was released, it’s not generating that much from streaming today. People still paid a lot more than what streaming generated because they wanted to own a piece of “Murkle Man”, they wanted to own a piece of Jammer. It’s a collectible, and it’s about what that means to them. I know people say streaming is dead, but on Strade Base, you can use streaming as a vehicle to raise capital because the real value is in the access.
Just to break it down, how much autonomy does the artist have in deciding how many shares they’re going to give away, the rewards, the access and all that kind of thing? Do they determine all of that?
Dwight: Strade Base is just a tool. Look at us as the Amazon of streaming royalties: we provide the safe house for you to do your transactions. You decide how much, how long, your pricing, every single thing. Then it becomes a public marketplace. People sign up, create their profile, link their bank accounts and, if they want to, they buy it. If an artist uploads a song and overvalues it, it won’t sell. Or they might sell out. We just make sure it’s a safe and fair trading platform. We provide all the security, and everyone goes through KYC [Know Your Customer] checks. You can’t transact until you’ve linked your bank account and provided a digital ID. I want artists to understand that this is a safe space and, more importantly, that it’s not about signing your rights away. You stay in control.
And Strade Base goes beyond the financial side. Artists need a lot more than that—they need to be discovered. On one side of the app, you’ve got Discovery where artists can get their tracks directly in front of DJs. Then on the other side, you’ve got the ownership marketplace. That combination hasn’t really been done in this country. Another point to make is that people who buy into artists will have proof of ownership, and they can use that to gain access to artist experiences. Imagine being able to own shares in Michael Jackson’s music and being able to showcase that. It’s like Pokémon cards, but tailored to the artist.
Do you ever see bigger artists getting involved, or is this going to stay strictly for independent artists?
Dwight: 100% they will. I saw Lil Baby saying we need a marketplace where you can turn music into stocks and shares. That’s what they should be looking for, and that’s what we’ve built. They’re looking for it because it turns your earnings into stocks, and people can invest in your earnings. You should be able to do that. I’ve already got a few big artists on the platform who are there to support other artists. They might not be there to actually sell their royalties because they don’t need the money—they’re there to invest. So, just like on Instagram, where you’ve got big artists following, liking and commenting on your page, Strade Base is about investing. Who do I have in my network? If I’ve got Manny Norté, for example, as an investor in my music, I know he’s going to play my music because, if he loves it enough to invest in it, he’s going to play it on the radio, right?
Big artists will be on there to support younger artists simply by being involved, investing in them and promoting their music. So it’s not just for up-and-coming artists. I can see everybody using it, and I’ve already seen that from what we’ve done. Artists are investing in other artists, and established artists are investing in established artists. Take Wretch 32, for example: he’s buying into Jme’s music because he wants to support it. I invested in Jme’s music too. It’s fun. So I’ve seen different things happen within the platform, and once it goes where it needs to go, who knows what’s next?
Manny: I’m excited about it! I want to say that a partnership with Strade Base is a very exciting thing for me. We want to be the number one in this space, 100%! Not just in the UK, but in the world.
What do you see as the five-year plan for Strade Base?
Dwight: So, what we’re building here is basically an ecosystem. Like I said, it’s not just about earning. We’ve added this additional Discovery layer, so now it’s not just a platform to earn—it’s also a platform to get discovered. And that’s just music. We want to build an ecosystem for the next generation of artists that makes things easier: easier access to cash, easier ways to get discovered, and more direct access to DJs and producers. We want to get rid of the unnecessary barriers that people face, especially grassroots artists coming up in the game. I can see that, in the music space, it’s becoming a lot more difficult. If you don’t have millions of streams, no one wants to know. Everything is just about viral moments. So I feel like we needed to create a space for new talent to feel like their work is being more appreciated, and that’s what Strade Base comes in. Everyone plays a role, and everyone has the opportunity to benefit—a happy ecosystem where everyone wins.
