ANote Music
ANote Music is a Luxembourg-based fintech platform that enables investment and trading in music royalty rights.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
ANote Music is the trading name of ANote S.A., a Luxembourg-based financial technology company focused on the investment and monetization of music royalties. Its online marketplace is designed to connect music-rights holders with investors seeking exposure to royalty income. Rights holders, including record labels, publishers, and artists, can place future royalty streams or catalogues on the platform. Investors can then acquire shares linked to those assets and receive a corresponding portion of royalty distributions generated by the underlying music. The company was founded on 30 July 2018 by Marzio Schena, Matteo Cernuschi, and Grégoire Mathonet. It entered Luxembourg’s Fit 4 Start accelerator in 2019, a program associated with Luxinnovation and the Luxembourg Ministry of the Economy. In January 2020, the business raised €505,000 from music-industry professionals and European investors. The public platform launched on 28 July 2020, initially listing a catalogue from Italian independent label Irma Records. ANote Music’s proposition is based on treating music rights as an investable alternative asset while attempting to improve liquidity for rights owners. Traditional royalty income can be recurring but relatively illiquid, and rights holders may need to wait for future payments or negotiate private transactions. By creating a marketplace, ANote Music aims to make these transactions more accessible, provide a route to secondary-market trading, and give investors greater visibility into the assets connected with their investments. The company’s model therefore combines elements of music-rights administration, marketplace infrastructure, and alternative-asset finance. The platform expanded its industry and investor profile during 2021 and 2022. In October 2021, music executive Mathew Knowles and Carlo Antonelli, a former editor-in-chief of Rolling Stone Italia, were appointed senior advisers. The same period included a bridge-funding round that brought total investment reported by the company to more than €1.5 million. In 2022, co-founders Marzio Schena and Matteo Cernuschi were included in Forbes Italy’s 30 Under 30 music category, while ANote Music became a finalist in the Startup World Cup after winning the Luxembourg regional selection. In 2023, ANote Music broadened its proposition to institutional investors by introducing music-backed financial products with a stated minimum threshold of €125,000. This expansion was supported by €500,000 in additional funding from Algorand Ventures, ACME Innovation, and the Young Innovative Enterprise Grant operated through Luxinnovation. By 30 October 2024, the company reported that its marketplace had facilitated more than €10 million in total royalty-related transactions, including €6.7 million through its secondary market, and had distributed more than €1 million in royalties to investors. These figures describe company-reported activity rather than independently verified financial performance. ANote Music’s current significance lies in its attempt to formalize music royalties as a tradable investment category and to extend access to music-rights finance beyond conventional industry participants.
History
ANote Music was established in Luxembourg on 30 July 2018 by Marzio Schena, Matteo Cernuschi, and Grégoire Mathonet. The founders developed the business around the idea that music royalties could be organized and exchanged as an alternative investment asset. Rather than limiting music-rights transactions to private negotiations between labels, publishers, artists, and specialist financial buyers, ANote Music sought to build an online marketplace where rights holders could offer future royalty streams and investors could acquire interests connected with those streams. The company joined the Fit 4 Start accelerator in 2019. The program was associated with Luxinnovation and the Luxembourg Ministry of the Economy, providing an early institutional setting for the development of the company in Luxembourg’s startup ecosystem. In January 2020, ANote Music secured €505,000 from music-industry professionals and European investors. The funding was intended to support the development and rollout of its marketplace. ANote Music launched publicly on 28 July 2020. Its first listed catalogue came from Irma Records, an Italian label. The platform’s operating model allowed rights holders to list royalty-generating assets while investors purchased shares or interests that entitled them to a portion of subsequent royalty income. The company also promoted a secondary market, intended to give investors a mechanism for trading those interests after their initial acquisition. During 2021, ANote Music increased its visibility in both the music and investment communities. In October, it appointed Mathew Knowles and Carlo Antonelli as senior advisers. Knowles brought experience from the music business, while Antonelli was identified as a former editor-in-chief of Rolling Stone Italia. The appointments coincided with a bridge-funding round that brought the company’s reported total investment above €1.5 million. In 2022, co-founders Schena and Cernuschi were named among Forbes Italy’s 30 Under 30 in the Music category. ANote Music also became a finalist at the Startup World Cup after winning the Luxembourg regional competition. These events reflected the company’s positioning as a music-technology and financial-innovation venture rather than as a conventional record label, publisher, or streaming service. The business expanded its target customer base in 2023 by introducing music-backed financial products aimed at institutional investors. The reported minimum investment threshold for these products was €125,000. The expansion was accompanied by €500,000 in new funding from Algorand Ventures, ACME Innovation, and the Young Innovative Enterprise Grant associated with Luxinnovation. This step indicated an effort to develop a higher-value institutional channel alongside the platform’s broader marketplace activity. On 30 October 2024, ANote Music reported that it had facilitated more than €10 million in royalty-related transactions since launch. The company stated that €6.7 million of this amount had taken place through the secondary market and that more than €1 million in royalties had been distributed to investors. These are company-reported operating figures and should not be treated as audited financial statements. Overall, ANote Music’s history is defined by the creation of a digital marketplace for music royalties, progressive engagement with institutional capital, and an attempt to improve liquidity and transparency in music-rights finance.
- 2024
Reported transaction and royalty-distribution milestone
[1]The company reported more than €10 million in total transactions and more than €1 million distributed in royalties to investors.
- 2023
Institutional product expansion
[1]ANote Music introduced music-backed financial products for institutional investors with a reported €125,000 minimum threshold.
- 2022
Recognition in startup and music rankings
[1]Co-founders Marzio Schena and Matteo Cernuschi appeared in Forbes Italy’s 30 Under 30 music category, and the company became a Startup World Cup finalist.
- 2021
Senior advisers appointed
[1]Mathew Knowles and Carlo Antonelli joined the company as senior advisers during a bridge-funding period.
- 2020
Initial funding round
[1]ANote Music raised €505,000 from music-industry professionals and European investors.
- 2020
Public marketplace launch
[1]The platform launched publicly on 28 July 2020 with a catalogue from Italian label Irma Records.
- 2019
Acceptance into Fit 4 Start
[1]The company joined the Fit 4 Start accelerator associated with Luxinnovation and the Luxembourg Ministry of the Economy.
- 2018
ANote Music is founded
[1]Marzio Schena, Matteo Cernuschi, and Grégoire Mathonet founded ANote Music in Luxembourg on 30 July 2018.
Products and positioning
A fintech marketplace positioned at the intersection of music rights, alternative assets, and royalty finance. ANote Music presents music catalogues as investable assets and seeks to provide rights holders with liquidity while giving investors access to recurring royalty income.
Music-rights investment marketplace · 2020
ANote Music royalty marketplace
The core platform allows rights holders such as record labels, publishers, and artists to list future royalty streams or music catalogues. Investors can purchase shares or interests tied to those assets and receive a portion of the royalty income generated by the underlying rights.
Royalty-linked asset trading
Secondary market
ANote Music’s secondary-market functionality is intended to provide liquidity after an initial royalty-linked investment. Investors can trade eligible interests rather than necessarily holding them until the underlying royalty stream has fully matured.
Institutional alternative-investment products · 2023
Institutional music-backed financial products
Introduced in 2023, these products broadened ANote Music’s offering beyond its general marketplace audience. They were designed for institutional investors and carried a reported minimum threshold of €125,000.
Brand decisions
2023
Expansion toward institutional investorsStrategyBackground
The company sought to extend its music-rights investment model beyond individual or specialist participants.
Action taken
ANote Music introduced music-backed financial products with a reported minimum investment threshold of €125,000.
Aftermath
The move broadened the company’s target market and was supported by €500,000 in new funding from Algorand Ventures, ACME Innovation, and the Young Innovative Enterprise Grant associated with Luxinnovation.
New funding. €500,000 (2023)
2020
Launch of the public music-royalty marketplaceProduct launchBackground
ANote Music had developed a marketplace intended to make music royalties available as investable interests and to help rights holders obtain liquidity.
Action taken
The company launched the platform publicly on 28 July 2020, initially listing a catalogue from Irma Records.
Aftermath
The launch established the company’s operating model and preceded its later development of secondary-market and institutional offerings.
Recent events
ANote Music expands into Japan through joint venture[2]
Reported:
ANote Music expanded into Japan and Asia through a joint venture with Royalty Bank, which will connect Japanese investors and rights owners with ANote's platform and European music royalty catalogues.
Sources2 sources
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