Frequently Asked Questions

DjookyX is a new marketplace offering music creators the financial means to boost their careers by offering rights in their music to fans who, in return, jointly benefit from future royalty income the track generates. DjookyX offers music fans a new asset class – certain music copyrights – and will soon enable them to trade these rights on a secondary market.

DjookyX offers a unique opportunity for recording artists, songwriters and other rights holders to generate the funds needed to develop and accelerate their music careers. By offering a minority percentage of their royalties to a community of fans, creators won’t lose any control of their copyrights.

For the first time, fans will soon have the opportunity both to support new music and artists as well as to benefit from future success and royalties coming from such music. Such royalties include the royalties that become due when a track is publicly broadcasted or performed as well as royalties from particular use cases such as, for example, cover versions, use in a movie or advertising campaign, etc., allowing fans to benefit from future royalties that tracks generate.

Once the initial sale of rights has been completed successfully, fans will soon be able to buy or sell and transfer their rights to other fans on DjookyX’s upcoming secondary platform.

The primary market is where creators create an initial sale and sell fractions of their rights in certain music to fans. The secondary market, likely to launch in early 2022, is where fans can buy and sell from and to other fans fractions of rights previously obtained on the primary or secondary market.

To commence the initial sale of any track(s) creators should first register for an account with DjookyX. If they are registered as an “Artist” at djookyawards.com their account will already be affiliated with DjookyX. In this case they can use the Djooky Music Awards login information to enter their account at DjookyX.

After registering on DjookyX and completing a KYC (know your customer) check, creators can begin the process of uploading the track(s) they would like to auction. Creators decide what proportion of the rights in a particular track they want to offer (no more than 49.9%), set the minimum price per percentage fraction of these rights, and decide the auction start date and time. In the ensuing process, creators directly enter into agreements for the initial sale and transfer of the rights.

Many emerging creators struggle to finance the production, release, and promotion of their music. DjookyX offers an alternative to the traditional methods of funding the creative process. Creators can use DjookyX to initiate the sale of a share of their rights and use the received funds to aid the production, distribution, marketing and promotion of future releases. This can include their own living expenses. DjookyX’s goal is to help creators become more independent by monetising their talent and intellectual property.

Once a track has been submitted to DjookyX, creators are able to commence an initial sale on the primary market. As previously stated, creators are asked to fill out a form indicating the purpose of the campaign and how the received funds will be used. Both creators and fans are subject to a KYC procedure, which means passing sufficient legal checks in order to prevent possible fraud or criminal activity. The creator is also asked to sign an initial sale agreement and must prove that they are eligible to offer rights in the track.

Each track is assigned a total of 100,000 fractions of rights. Creators can offer up to 49,900 of these fractions, corresponding to 49.9% of the rights in any single track.

They can offer rights in either, or both.

No, they are merely selling fractions of claims for payment arising from the consumption of their music. They will maintain ownership of their copyrights.

Creators can place an unlimited number of tracks on DjookyX. However, once a track has been successfully auctioned and rights have been allocated to the highest bidders, the same track cannot be placed on the primary market again. For clarification, even if in a first auction only 10 percentage points (out of the maximum of 49.9 percentage points) of the rights were sold, the creator cannot instigate another auction of the rights for the same song on the primary market.

From 16th January 2022, creators will be required to pay a €100 fee to initiate each sale campaign. If the initial sale is not completed successfully and the creator would like to start the initial sale once again, they must still pay the €100 fee again. The fee for auctions taking place before 16th January 2022 will be €1.

Yes. Creators can offer rights for both released and unreleased material.

Currently DjookyX can only facilitate the sale of rights for single tracks. However, plans to incorporate auctions for EPs and full albums are underway.

This depends on the arrangements they have agreed to with their label. Before using DjookyX, they should check these arrangements and/or contact their label for clarification, as each case will be specific to individual record label deals.

Yes. If a record label owns rights in a particular track, they will also be permitted to trade via the primary market, subject to the same terms and conditions as other rights holders. It is recommended that each record label checks its arrangements with individual creators whether the label’s use of DjookyX is in line with these.

Yes. Creators can upload music to DjookyX from any country serviced by MANGOPAY, the dedicated escrow agent. A full list of countries can be found here. The relationship between Djooky and all users is as set out in the Terms of Use (subject to German law) and all related materials, which can be found here.

When applying for an initial offering, creators are shown a drop-down menu of accredited service providers to choose from. If a preferred company is not yet included on Djooky’s list of accredited service providers the creator can contact Djooky by email and ask for it to be accredited and added.

Djooky will not acquire or retain ownership of tracks. Please note, however, that all auctions require creators to choose an administrator of rights when initiating an auction. Creators can select Djooky to be the administrator of rights if they wish. For more information please see the Terms of Use here.

On the primary market, DjookyX operates using a Dutch auction format.

This is a system whereby the price of individual fractions of the rights that are offered is lowered until there are enough bids to sell all offered fractions. The fractions are then sold at the allocated price and distributed down from the bidder with the highest bid to the one with the second highest bid and so forth until all offered fractions have been sold.

Once the creator signs the initial sale agreement and legal checks are completed, the track is approved for the initial sale. Fans are able to view the track on the primary market and begin bidding for rights. Once the auction has been successfully completed, the rights are distributed amongst the successful bidders.

Example 1

Creator offers 5,000 fractions of their rights for €5,000, i.e. for €1 per fraction.

User 1 wants to buy 2,500 fractions for €1 each, which is equal to €2,500.

User 2 wants to buy 2,500 fractions for €1 each, which is equal to €2,500.

Both users receive 2,500 fractions each at the price of €1.

Example 2

Creator offers 5,000 fractions of their rights for €5,000.

User 1 wants to buy 2,500 fractions for €1 each = €2,500.

User 2 wants to buy 2,500 fractions for €1.10 each = €2,750.

Both users receive an equal number of 2,500 fractions at the lowest price of €1.

Example 3

Creator offers 5,000 fractions of their rights for €5,000.

User 1 wants to buy 2,500 fractions for €1 each.

User 2 wants to buy 5,000 fractions for €1.10 each.

User 2 receives 5,000 fractions for €1.10 each, i.e. for €5,500 in total.

Example 4

Creator offers 5,000 fractions of their rights for €5,000.

User 1 wants to buy 2,500 fractions for €1 each.

User 2 wants to buy 2,500 fractions for €1.10 each.

User 3 wants to buy 2,500 fractions for €1.20 each.

User 3 receives 2,500 fractions and User 2 receives 2,500 fractions, each at the lowest price of all successful bidders, which here is €1.10.

The duration of each auction is two weeks.

Fans do not receive any rights if an auction has not been successfully completed. If a creator does not receive the agreed minimum amount that has been specified for the rights auctioned, the sale does not become binding and is considered null and void.

Yes. If the auction of a certain track fails, the creator can redo the auction of this track on the primary with the same or amended terms, and the creator can do so multiple times until an auction has been successful. For each such auction the regular fee will become due.

Creators can allocate funds for audio/video production, recording sessions, marketing activities or other products and services offered by accredited providers. Before the start of each initial sale campaign, creators are required to specify the intended purpose and use of the requested funds and how they intend to distribute them among DjookyX’s list of accredited service providers. This aims to provide additional transparency between creators and fans. Once an auction is successful, the providers will automatically receive the corresponding funds. This ensures the funds are used as indicated by the creator beforehand.

No. Only creators can initiate the sale of their music on the DjookyX platform. Djooky will not put up any tracks for auction, and Djooky will not actively promote any individual track or auction.

Djooky will take a 5% commission fee for each auction successfully completed. If the auction is unsuccessful, Djooky will not take a commission. The auction fee (borne by the creator initiating an auction) becomes due for each auction irrespective of its outcome and independently from the commission. Djooky will receive and deduct the 5% commission from the funds collected by the creator by way of a successful auction.

Anyone can invest in music rights as long as they meet the necessary legal requirements, e.g. age requirements, KYC, and reside in a country on MANGOPAY’s approved list.

Anyone hoping to purchase fractions of rights will first need to create a DjookyX account. Once created, fans can access the bank of tracks listed on the primary market. Auctions on the primary market each have a two week period during which fans can bid for fractions of rights. Fans can view key information on each track, as well as how the creator plans (and commits) to use the income from the auction. Prior to bidding, fans will be required to sign an initial sales agreement with the creator that remains conditional on successful outcome of the auction and the bid.

Fans benefit from royalties generated by tracks in which they have purchased fractions of the rights. For example, if the track generates €1,000 in royalties, the owner of a 3 per cent share shall receive €30.

The creator can choose the minimum price per fraction of the rights for any track and there is no universal starting price for bids. For example, if the creator owns all rights in a certain track, i.e. including all 100,000 fractions of the rights related to that track, and wants to auction 1,000 fractions (1%) for €1,000 in total, then the minimum price will be €10 for 0.01% or €100 for 0.1% etc.

Djooky doesn't provide any recommendations. But there are many avenues for fans to explore when deciding to buy rights in music. Fans can consult the Djooky charts to see if a track is gaining traction among the Djooky community, as well as read reviews from Djooky’s top-notch music executives and experts. However, this is solely their personal professional opinion and not the recommendation of, and not influenced by, Djooky.

Fans can also check the profiles of musicians via the Djooky website or keep up to date with the number of views/streams a creator is generating via social media and streaming platforms.

Each fan receives a royalty statement via email four times a year containing information on the royalties generated over the past three months by the tracks they own rights in. Any time a royalty has been received over such a three-month period, fans receive a payment corresponding to the proportion of rights they own in the track.

The lifetime of a right in music is subject to the law of each individual country. Generally, it lasts a long time. For example, in the EU, the copyrights in a musical composition, including the right to claim royalties, generally last for 70 years after the death of the composer.

Yes. Anyone can reinvest by buying new rights on the DjookyX marketplace.

Yes. Fans can withdraw funds by transferring them to their bank account.

DjookyX currently accepts payments in Euros. Any funds are automatically added to their Djooky wallet, from which they can bid for and purchase rights or withdraw monies to another bank account.

Djooky partners with a broad network of collective management organisations and royalty distributors worldwide. This includes collecting royalties from streaming services providers.

Yes. Fans will be required to sign an agreement with the creator. Once a sale has been successfully completed, fans will be asked to sign an agreement stating the amount and price of the obtained rights.

Before placing a bid for an auction, each fan has to put sufficient amounts of money into his or her individual account with the escrow agent MANGOPAY, an independent third-party payment services provider licensed for providing payment services in the respective countries. Whenever a fan bids on a track at auction, the corresponding amount is blocked in the fan’s account with MANGOPAY until the auction and sale are complete and both parties have fulfilled their contractual obligations. Over the course of this the amount will be credited from the fan’s account to the relevant artist’s or third party’s account as stipulated in the related initial offer or auction. If a bid or an auction is unsuccessful, the blocked amount in the fan’s MANGOPAY account is released again and available for another bid or auction or, subject to the applicable terms and conditions, for being transferred to another bank account as indicated by the fan.

DjookyX also uses sophisticated technology and procedures to ensure advanced levels of transparency and security. This includes 3D-Secure (3DS), a security protocol providing an authentication layer for online credit and debit card transactions. The advantage of 3DS is that it has been proven to significantly reduce the number of fraudulent payments on the web. A 3DS authentication requires the buyer to have both the card information and a second authentication token (password, card reader etc.) and it highly reduces the number of disputed payments due to “unauthorised transaction”.

Djooky carries out due diligence checks for each track offered via the marketplace. In addition, Djooky has integrated content verification software from Audible Magic to detect the authenticity of a music composition whenever a track is uploaded. While Djooky cannot offer a 100% guarantee that a certain piece of music really is authentic and genuine, fans should feel able to participate with confidence.