There’s no denying that there’s money to be made on Taylor Swift. In the hours following the announcement of the pop star’s engagement to Travis Kelce, shares in Signet (SIG) and Brilliant Earth (BRLT) jumped in pre-wedding bliss. Ralph Lauren (RL), which made the dress Swift wore in her engagement pictures, also saw its shares climb.
While investors are reasonably arguing that one of the most highly anticipated weddings in history will be a boon for these related companies, investing in Signet or Ralph Lauren is not an actual investment in Taylor Swift.
However, a startup that launched in early 2024 promises to give investors an even closer shot at riding Swift’s coattails.
On JKBX, a new crowdfunding platform that launched in early 2024, retail investors have a chance to buy shares of royalties associated with popular songs, including Swift’s 2014 hit “Welcome to New York.”
Investors can buy a share in the sound-recording rights of “Welcome to New York” for $45 apiece, and are then entitled to quarterly distributions of fees paid to the rights holder. These fees come from streaming service revenue, album sales, radio royalties, or fees from use in movies or TV. JKBX warns that these fees will vary quarter to quarter, but pegs an annualized yield of 6.68% on Swift’s hit.
Although Swift herself hasn’t sold her royalty rights on “Welcome to New York,” she co-wrote the song with Ryan Tedder, of One Republic fame. Tedder sold a catalog of his music in 2021 that includes “Welcome to New York,” One Republic’s “Counting Stars,” and Birdy’s “Wings,” and these songs are available on JKBX.
Right now, investors can only buy royalty shares and not sell them, although language on the JKBX website suggests the company plans to enable a secondary market for resale in 2025. JKBX sells music royalty shares through Tier 2 of Regulation A under the Securities Act.
The thesis for buying shares in royalty fees on JKBX is that an old song could get new love, such as by getting featured in a hit TV show or movie’s soundtrack. The now-infamous example of this is Kate Bush’s 1985 “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)” which topped the charts again after being featured in Stranger Things.
