music-distribution
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Believe Built the Missing Middle Between Uploading a Song and Building a Career
The Paris company turned digital distribution into a ladder: self-serve tools at the bottom, local expertise in the middle, and full artist development at the top. Now it is adding publishing, deeper marketing, and a responsible-AI position to the same system.
Duetti
Duetti is a New York-based music fintech that buys catalogs and royalty streams from independent artists, giving creators upfront cash for their recorded music and publishing rights without debt or recoupment. Founded in 2022 by former Tidal COO Lior Tibon and ex-Apple Music executive Christopher Nolte, the company pairs catalog financing with active distribution, marketing and playlist support, positioning itself as a catalog partner built specifically for the long tail of independent creators rather than major-label superstars.
Mass Appeal
Mass Appeal is a New York-based media and content company that calls itself the elevated voice of hip-hop. Founded as a graffiti fanzine in 1996 and revived in 2013 by rapper Nas, CEO Peter Bittenbender and the late journalist-filmmaker Sacha Jenkins, it spans a record label, film and TV production, digital series, a creative agency and direct-to-consumer commerce. The company is best known for the Hip Hop 50 initiative marking the genre's 50th anniversary, Grammy- and award-winning documentaries, and a music catalog built around legacy artists and their new work.