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RZA invests in AYO Music Group, the music copyright administrator co-founded by Deborah Mannis-Gardner and Pär Almqvist
RZA has invested in AYO Music Group, a music copyright administrator that helps artists and other rightsholders collect royalties. The investment adds to AYO’s group of backers and supports its plan to take on and serve more clients; the company says gaps in accounting and rights administration can leave creators unaware of money they are owed.
AYO did not disclose the size of the funding round. Founded in 2023 by Deborah Mannis-Gardner, Pär Almqvist and Stacey Haber, it administers publishing, neighbouring rights and recordings, and says its catalogue now represents songs with well over 10 billion streams, up from more than one billion at launch. Its clients include MC Lyte, Pete Rock and Dave East; AYO says it recovered previously uncollected publishing revenue for producer Domingo after he signed in 2024.
In short
- RZA has invested in royalty administrator AYO Music Group.
- AYO says its catalogue represents songs with over 10 billion streams.
- The company says it helps rightsholders recover unpaid royalties.
Explained simply
Music copyright administration is the work of tracking how songs and recordings are used and collecting the royalties due to their owners. Different rights can apply to a song’s composition, a recording and its public performance, so managing them can involve several sources of income.
AYO Music Group was founded in 2023 by Deborah Mannis-Gardner, Pär Almqvist and Stacey Haber. It works with artists and other rights holders, including MC Lyte, Pete Rock and Dave East, to administer publishing, recording and performance rights.
RZA is a musician and producer best known as a member of the Wu-Tang Clan. His investment adds to AYO’s backing as it seeks to serve more clients; the company says incomplete rights records and accounting can mean creators miss royalties owed to them.
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