Serial entrepreneur and recording artist Victor D. Lombard, also referred to as DIVINE, introduced this week the launch of a brand new firm, in partnership with RAKIM, one in every of hip-hop’s most influential emcees.
The corporate is known as Notes, a fintech particularly for unbiased city musicians and creators. It supplies the data and instruments to assist artists handle their careers — akin to offering assets to assist them apply for loans or entry credit score scores. It supplies monetary literacy and music enterprise training by providing multimedia programs, step-by-step guides on monetary administration and easy methods to monetize music. It additionally has a characteristic that lets artists write lyrics and join with their friends on the app.
Notes has a “digital passport” characteristic that lets customers monitor credit score rating, entry loans, and funds instruments. The corporate companions with lenders and collectors and earns a fee on referral charges when customers apply for loans via the platform.
The app, at the moment in beta, has AI instruments, together with an AI voice assistant in RAKIM’s voice. It’s hoping to launch totally on the finish of February.
Chatting with TechCrunch, DIVINE mentioned he was impressed to launch this firm alongside RAKIM due to his first-hand expertise coping with the indie city music scene and the hardship that comes when making an attempt to fund a profession. It’s effectively documented, via motion pictures, profiles, and music itself, that breaking into the music trade is difficult and costly. For each big-named artist that hits the charts, there are 1000’s merely struggling to get by.
“The music industry, as it stands, is structured to take advantage of artists through exploitative contracts and limited financial resources, forcing them into predatory deals just to survive,” he mentioned. Having spent the previous ten years constructing fintech firms, he additionally mentioned he’s come to view expertise as an important equalizer, a solution to redistribute management again to artists and creators. DIVINE beforehand based fintech BLAK, which targeted on serving underbanked communities, and constructed Solvent, a neobank additionally for underserved communities.
So he considered Notes, to musicians educate themselves, fund their very own initiatives and construct careers on their very own phrases. He mentioned now is an efficient time for this product as a result of indie artists and creators have gotten extra highly effective and influential, but nonetheless lack numerous monetary assist.
DIVINE then pitched the corporate to RAKIM’s staff as a solution to associate, and “it became an even more powerful force for change,” DIVINE mentioned.
RAKIM is a part of the hip-hop group Eric B. & RAKIM, which made waves throughout the golden age of hip-hop throughout the 80s. Their album “Paid in Full” was listed as one of many Best Albums of All Time by Rolling Stone in 2020 because it was one of many first albums to make use of funk samples and influenced the circulation and lyricism of rappers to come back.
DIVINE says he’s recognized RAKIM for 20 years and at all times admired him for “staying true to his artists and principles.”
“When I started ideating Notes, I knew it had to be more than just a fintech platform, it had to be a movement rooted in the values of empowerment and cultural authenticity,” DIVINE continued. “That’s why it made perfect sense to bring RAKIM on board.”
The partnership sees RAKIM come on as a co-founder and as an advisory board member. RAKIM’s son, Tahmell Griffin, additionally holds an government place on the firm.
Proper now, the corporate is self-funded however DIVINE mentioned the corporate is searching for a pre-seed spherical. Notes provides freemium and premium subscription memberships. It seeks to earn cash from its subscription fashions, referral charges. He says this firm is the fruits of his music and technological journey.
“I want Notes to shift the narrative from artists being exploited by record labels to artists owning their financial future and career success,” DIVINE mentioned. “If an artist can use Notes to get funding for their next album, learn how to run their music career as a business, and leverage community collaboration for growth, then we’ve succeeded.”
