Darya Pourshasb, Spotify‘s Director, Premium Content Strategy, since 2018, has joined blockchain-based music investment platform, Royal.
Pourshasb joins Royal as Head of Global Artist & Label Partnerships, and will oversee artist relations and music partnerships at the company.
Royal tells MBW that Pourshasb will be focused on bringing a variety of artists to the platform “from independent artists to icons”.
Royal, co-founded by Justin Blau, aka musician and producer 3LAU, launched last summer, and aims to enable fractional music ownership through its own version of NFTs.
The company raised $55 million in a funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) in November, which also attracted investment from artists like The Chainsmokers, Nas, Logic, Stefflon Don, Kygo, Joyner Lucas and Disclosure.
In January, Royal let fans invest in hip-hop legend Nas’s music on the platform by buying shares in the royalties earned from streaming for two of his tracks.
Last month, Diplo became the next superstar artist to team up with Royal to sell shares in his streaming royalties.
Prior to working at Spotify, Pourshasb was the VP of Global Partner Development at Sony Music Entertainment in New York, and held various roles at the major over the span of six years.
Between December 2015 and January 2018, Pourshasb was Senior Director, Executive Office & Corporate Strategy at Sony Music, and served as Director, Executive Office & Corporate Strategy prior to that.
“Having seen the industry from both the label and streaming side, I am very excited by companies that are truly additive and grow the pie rather than take a cut from existing players.”
Darya Pourshasb
Speaking to MBW, Darya Pourshasb said: “Having seen the industry from both the label and streaming side, I am very excited by companies that are truly additive and grow the pie rather than take a cut from existing players.
“I am also very excited about solutions that aim to fix a creator economy that continues to be broken.
“Royal does exactly that with artists opening up music ownership to fans - creating a new revenue stream and allowing for a deeper connection with superfans and new audiences. This ultimately offers value for everyone involved, from streaming services and labels to, of course, artists and fans.
Added Pourshasb: “As the Head of Global Artist & Label Partnerships, I’ll be responsible for overseeing artist relations and our music partnerships. Since January, six incredible artists, including Nas, Diplo, and Tritonal, have dropped music on Royal and shared ownership with fans.
“My primary objective is to continue expanding this artist roster while also creating win-win partnerships across the industry. Building off some great early momentum, I’ll be looking to bring a variety of artists to the platform, from independent artists to icons that span musical genres and markets.”
“We’re really excited she chose to join us at Royal — it’s a testament to the promise of fan-held music ownership.”
Justin Blau
Justin Blau said: “Darya comes to us from Spotify and Sony Music, and therefore brings deep expertise in both streaming music and record labels.
“She understands the diverse range of needs and is in a good position to form partnerships that benefit everyone.
“We’re really excited she chose to join us at Royal — it’s a testament to the promise of fan-held music ownership when people who are deep in the music industry are driving this new approach mainstream.
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