Contributing WriterThe story of music promotion has come full circle. In the ’90s, EDM producers would hold headphones up to telephone receivers, sharing their latest tracks with contacts across continents. Today, TikTok creators hold phones up to their audiences, turning tracks into viral sensations. This evolution hasn’t gone unnoticed by Giacomo Pellegrini, founder and CEO of Fankee, who alongside veteran EDM producer Dario Pozzi, is revolutionizing how emerging artists break through in the digital age.
Launched in 2024, Fankee represents a bold experiment in music promotion: a platform that transforms passionate fans into co-owners and promoters of the music they love. The model is both simple and revolutionary – artists retain around 50% of their rights, while 20-30% is made available for fans to purchase, creating a community of invested supporters who directly benefit from an artist’s success.
The results speak for themselves. Through Fankee’s contest platform, artists who previously struggled to reach 100 streams have seen their numbers explode to over 140,000. Their most recent contest generated 2 million+ streams across 32 tracks, with over 3 million social media interactions. However, like any innovative model, Fankee’s approach comes with its own set of challenges. The platform must continuously adapt to rapidly changing social media landscapes, and the success of its artists relies heavily on community engagement – a factor that can be as unpredictable as it is powerful.
Yet, in an industry where major labels increasingly operate like risk-averse private equity funds, Fankee’s willingness to bet on emerging talent – while offering them a fair deal – might just be the disruption the music industry needs. We spoke with Pellegrini to discuss how Fankee is reshaping artist development and fan engagement in the streaming era.
1. You describe Fankee as a “Y Combinator for music.” Could you elaborate on how exactly you’re applying the startup accelerator model to emerging artists, and what specific resources or support systems you provide beyond the community-driven promotion?
The analogy comes from a parallel that, in my opinion, represents today’s music market very well.
A label, like a venture capital or private equity fund, invests in talent, making a bet on an artist’s success. Major labels are akin to large private equity funds, focusing on reducing risk by signing artists who have already made progress independently—those who’ve demonstrated hype on social media, for example. Therefore, they pick talent that has already partially blossomed, giving it that final push to break through.
The difference is that labels often demand 70% or more of the rights in return.
What’s missing in this context? A system that accelerates talent, takes risks earlier and treats artists fairly. That’s where we step in, much like YC does for startups.
At Fankee, we offer what artists need the most: getting their music heard and reaching as many ears as possible. We achieve this through a combination of paid and organic promotion. External professionals support the organic push from fans—the real engine of promotion—by promoting tracks internationally.
In the future, while we will always be a label, our goal is to become a launchpad where artists can independently access everything they need in a high-quality, digital-first way. And all of this without giving up more than two-thirds of their rights. Not bad, right?
2. Your initial contests showed impressive streaming numbers. What metrics or criteria do you use to select which artists can participate in these contests, and how do you ensure the quality and authenticity of social media engagement?
We’re very proud of what we’ve achieved. We’ve been able to help artists who previously had fewer than 100 streams on DSPs reach 100-140k streams, and within a few months, the total hit 2 million.
Our selection process is currently based on genre, with a broad focus on EDM and its many subgenres. But the most important criteria are originality and a clear concept behind the track. Social media only gives you a few seconds to capture attention, so a distinctive, recognizable element—ideally a sung melody—can make all the difference.
Artists also need to have some social media presence and be willing to create content. Like it or not, this is essential today. We support them, but success is a team effort between Fankee, the artists, and the community. We’re all in the same boat.
As for authenticity, the approach is simple: the fans and artists themselves become the label. We give them full creative freedom to use the music in their content however they see fit.
3. The concept of fans becoming co-owners is intriguing. Could you walk us through the specifics of how the royalty-sharing model works – what percentage do fans receive, how are royalties distributed among multiple fan-promoters, and what legal framework supports this arrangement?
Our royalty-sharing model is based on the fractionalization ****of master rights. Here’s how it works:
- Ownership Structure: Artists retain a significant portion of their music rights—typically around 50%—while a percentage, such as 20-30%, is split and made available for fans to purchase. This allows fans to have a genuine stake in an artist’s success while ensuring the artist maintains creative control and a majority share of their music.
- Revenue Distribution: Royalties generated from streams and other revenue sources are automatically distributed based on each fan’s share once the DSPs release them. Our technology ensures accurate and timely payouts.
- Legal Framework: Fan ownership is formalized through a straightforward and transparent ownership contract, ensuring compliance with master rights laws.
4. Major labels often provide significant upfront investment in production, marketing, and tour support. How does Fankee plan to compete with these traditional industry resources while operating under a community-driven model?
In reality, advances for young artists have largely disappeared. Major labels only offer advances to high-profile, established artists, and even then, they often recoup those advances from future earnings. For most emerging talents, signing with a label means handing over control while unfortunately receiving little to no tangible support.
Fankee takes a different approach. We don’t bind artists to exclusive contracts unless they choose to be. Instead, we empower the real gatekeepers of social media and hype—the fans, micro-creators, and the artists themselves—by providing them with the tools and power to succeed.
And we always retain only a minority share for Fankee, keeping the focus on fair and transparent collaboration.
5. You mention that “social media now defines what becomes a hit.” Given the rapidly changing nature of social platforms and trends, how does Fankee adapt its strategy to remain effective across different platforms and evolving consumer behaviors?
Fankee is designed to be platform-agnostic and adaptive. We analyze user behavior and trends in real-time using growth hacking tools and data analytics. Our adaptability includes:
Platform-Specific Strategies: TikTok, for instance, serves as a discovery engine where we focus on creating viral moments, while Spotify provides sustained listening that translates into revenue. YouTube is a platform we believe in and plan to invest in heavily, especially for DJ sets, physical events, and giving our artists greater visibility.
Community-Led Content: We don’t force trends or anticipate them artificially. Instead, we empower users to create freely with our music, letting their creativity guide our success.
6. Your co-founder Dario Pozzi brings experience from the EDM scene of the ’90s and early 2000s. How has that era’s DIY and underground music culture influenced Fankee’s approach to artist development and community building?
It may sound surprising, but the EDM scene of the ’90s can easily be compared to today’s. Back then, producing and pressing music (especially vinyl) was relatively accessible, and the market was flooded with countless small independent labels. Just like today, major labels struggled to keep up with this phenomenon, often signing artists only after they had already achieved significant success.
Another similarity lies in the promotional mechanics. While major labels relied on traditional channels like radio, press, and TV, dance music producers had to handle everything on their own. Independent labels focused mainly on distribution and licensing, leaving the producers in charge of promoting their music.
Dario often tells stories about calling his contacts in the UK and playing them his tracks by holding a headphone up to the telephone receiver. That was the most effective way to promote music at the time. Sharing music with your community through the available means—primarily mix tapes—was the real key to success. Many tracks that made it to the top 10 during those years were born through this method of sharing and distribution.
Today, at Fankee, both artist development and community building are rooted in the same principle: connecting directly with the listeners—the Music Lovers. What used to be mix tapes has now evolved into playlists, sharing, and social content. This is the only winning path to success. And by allowing fans to have real “skin in the game” by becoming co-producers of the tracks they love, we’ve crafted the perfect recipe for success.
7. Looking ahead, what’s your vision for scaling Fankee? Are there plans to expand beyond contests into other areas of artist development or music industry innovation?
As I mentioned earlier, Fankee is a full-fledged label at its core, with contests serving as just one of the tools we use to empower our community. In the future, we aim to become a launchpad for artists, offering them everything they need to succeed independently. This includes exploring innovative tools and technologies, such as AI for personalized promotion and tools tailored for creators, while building an ecosystem where artists and fans collaborate seamlessly, free from the constraints of traditional gatekeepers. Our ultimate vision is to redefine artist development and music promotion through a blend of technology and community-driven models.
8. Finally, on a more personal note, what were some of your favorite electronic artists this year? Any favorite albums you’d like to share with us?
I have two favorites for very different reasons. Mochakk is an incredible entertainer; I saw him perform at CircoLoco in Ibiza, and his music truly electrifies the dancefloor—a rare skill these days when people often focus more on the visuals behind the DJ than actually dancing. On the other hand, Ben Böhmer has a phenomenal sound. During long drives, I often find myself listening to Beyond Belief and Father Ocean (co-produced with Monolink, if I’m not mistaken 😉)