ELTON JOHN INVESTS IN AUDOO 

Elton John and David Furnish have participated in a $5m funding round for music-tech company Audoo, which aims to improve the process of public-performance royalty payments.

The enterprise's latest round brings total investment to $22m. John and Furnish join previous investors Björn Ulvaeus (of ABBA), MPL Ventures, Tileyard and Edinv.

“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,” John said. “It's often brutally unfair, and this sadly extends to being paid correctly. Right now, artists are not being paid accurately for their plays because the data simply doesn't exist.

"People have given up on their dreams and we've lost talent and future stars because of this disparity. We've invested in Audoo and its world-class technology and data to help create a more transparent system for everyone and ultimately, to keep the music alive.”

Via its Audio Meter, which has been installed in businesses around the world, Audoo identifies the music being played and reports the usage to its PRO and CMO partners.

This round of investment follows key hires at Audoo, including music-publishing exec Nigel Elderton as chairman and Melanie Johnson—formerly of Utopia Music and Facebook, where she served as international head of music-publishing partnerships, and currently board trustee of The Ivors Academy Trust and Music Minds Matter—as chief commercial officer.