Sir Elton John joins list of celebrity backers for new music technology business
Audoo, a company which helps artists receive fairer royalty payments, has added Sir Elton John to its expansive list of celebrity backers.
The rocket man singer and his husband David Furnish are among a slew of high profile backers for the businesses new funding round, according to Sky News’ Mark Kleinman.
Sources told the outlet that the $5m (£4.1m) cash injection could be announced as early as this morning.
The national treasure joins Sir Paul McCartney and ABBA’s Bjorn Ulvaeus as supporters of the company which was launched five years ago by former singer Ryan Edwards.
The business was set up to tackle the issue of public performance royalties and to ensure musicians are rewarded when their work is played in public venues.
It uses an audio monitoring device to detect songs played in public venues and is present in some 10 countries so far.
It comes as reports have suggested that musicians lose out on some $3bn (£2.45bn) in unaccounted royalties each year.
Sir Elton John told Sky News: “Working as a musician can be seen as all glitz and glamour but for the vast majority of artists, especially new and emerging acts, this isn’t the case.
“It’s often brutally unfair and this sadly extends into being paid correctly. Right now, artists are not being paid accurately for their plays because the data simply doesn’t exist.”
City A.M has contacted Audoo for a comment.
Sir Elton played his farewell tour earlier this year, selling out the O2 on a number of occasions and headlining Glastonbury.