Press
We are always happy to talk. For press inquiries contact us via the waitlist. For grant committees and investors: the full feasibility memo is available on request.
Artist Exchange is the first public marketplace where fans can invest in emerging artists' royalty streams before they sign to a label.
We are building a publicly-traded alternative to a record-label advance. Fans fund the project, the artist keeps their masters, and returns flow back as royalties. Built at Howard University - where the supply of unsigned talent is the unfair advantage.
Artist Exchange is a Howard University-founded fintech platform democratizing music investment. Where Beatbread and Indify use private VC capital, we use retail fan capital - giving fans the upside that labels have monopolized for decades, and giving artists better terms than they can get anywhere else.
| Founded | 2026 |
| Location | Howard University, Washington D.C. |
| Model | Reg CF crowdfunding via partner portal (Wefunder / Republic) |
| Target launch | Q3 2026 |
| Minimum investment | $25 |
| Artist terms | Artist keeps masters, publishing, sync, and live income |
| Investor returns | Quarterly royalty distributions + secondary trading at month 12 |
| Stage | Pre-launch: building demo, signing artist LOIs, applying for non-dilutive funding |
| Target grant sources | Black Ambition (up to $200k), Z Fellows, Howard PNC pitch competition |
Every label-alternative funder (Beatbread, Indify, Duetti) is private capital. None lets a fan put $100 into their favorite artist's next album. That seat is vacant.
A fan who owns shares streams the music, shares it, and advocates for it. Tesla shareholders don't drive more Teslas to pump their position. Music investors do.
The artists Beatbread can't underwrite are the artists Howard produces: no streaming history yet, but a real audience. We have first-mover access to this pipeline.