The landscape of content creation is ever evolving. New platforms with a shared goal of content distribution continue to be developed and released, digital edifices of their own kind that market content from musicians and other innovators alike to audiences both broad and diverse. Such platforms—think Spotify, Apple Music, and SoundCloud, for instance—have revolutionized the accessibility of digital content, as the obvious sentiment continues to echo in production circles: there is perhaps no better time to be a content creator than right now, deep in the ‘digital age.’
And yet in spite of the developments made in the neighborhood of content creation, payment allocation had remained a ‘historical’ issue, with said platforms failing to direct payments to their rightful owners between 20-50% of the time, an issue rooted in the platforms’ uncertainty as to whom to pay. Payment distribution proved an insufferable headache for content creators, until Stem moved in, that is.
Founded in 2015 by Milana Rabkin, Tim Luckow, and Jovin Cronin-Wilesmith, Stem seeks to simplify the payment process for musicians and content creators, ensuring that creators and collaborators get paid the correct amounts in a streamlined, timely manner. The financial platform unifies and manages agreements, distribution, payments, and data, allowing creators to immerse themselves in their work, where their minds should be. With Stem, creators are no longer obligated to chase payments, or verify their amounts—Stem does the work.
Boasting the industry’s first consensus-based model, Stem establishes transparent and consensual royalty splits prior to distribution, promoting financial fairness among creators and their collaborators. When numerous creators are engaged in one project, no one is paid until the creators agree on a figure for the payment split.
But Stem’s focus is not limited to payment apportionment. The platform provides valuable insight to creators regarding the performance of their content, highlighting the platforms where such content performs best, the site of the creator’s most invested audience, and the most opportune times to release new content. In an increasingly competitive industry, Stem is a cutting edge resource that propels creators towards their fullest financial potential.
“There is money in streaming, and with Stem, we’re aiming to eliminate the notion of the starving artist by empowering the creative class with the necessary tools and data to succeed in an increasingly competitive industry,” said Stem’s CEO, Milana Rabkin. Stem’s comparatively ‘well fed’ artist clients include Krewella, Winn and Woo [pending approval], and Justin Jay [pending approval], among other high profile producers and rising professionals.
Rabkin articulates the organizing principle behind Stem, asking “In a world where Venmo exists, why isn’t there a Venmo for Apple and Spotify?” The question materialized in Rabkin’s mind during her time as a digital talent agent at United Talent Agency in 2015, a time in which YouTube in particular was elevating aspiring creators to a global view. Her finger planted on the pulse of content creation as she sought opportunities for the agency’s signed talent to expand its digital reach, Rabkin became attuned to the prevalent issue of payment distribution. Cognizant that an automated, electronic platform did not exist to remediate the issue, Rabkin was determined to engineer a service that could solve the problem while simultaneously working across various content sharing platforms. Fast forward a few months, and Rabkin would find herself in the thick of Stem’s development, flanked by co-founders, Luckow and Cronin-Wilesmith. Not much later, Stem would be born in full fledged functionality, primed to distribute to a multitude of content platforms, including Spotify, YouTube, Apple, SoundCloud, Pandora, and Tidal, among others.
A financial platform acutely aware of content creators’ needs, economic or otherwise, Stem emerges as a vanguard in the context of the industry, shaping the future of payment distribution.
Read More:
Sony Music begins licensing stems with industry changing Remix Hits technology
Richie Hawtin and Pioneer join forces to increase royalties for tracks played in sets
Streaming services and major labels join initiative to streamline royalties
Categories: News
