Credit: Photo by Sasa Felsbach
Christof Straub, Founder, and CEO of Global Rockstar tells us about the Music NFT Company.
Tell us about you, your career, and how you founded Global Rockstar.
Christof Straub: I stumbled by accident into the music business at 21 when my first songs and productions became number one hits in Austria. I signed contracts with major labels then and learned a lot about the music business for 15 years from the perspective of an artist, songwriter, and music producer. I spent the next 15 years of my career as an artist and label manager learning a lot about the other side of the music business. Since 2008 I have been active as an online entrepreneur.
In 2014 I founded Global Rockstar with the vision to disrupt the music business with digital innovation by fulfilling 3 goals:
- Fair chances for artists
- Direct fan participation
- New revenue streams for new and existing song rights
Since 2018, Global Rockstar has developed into a web3 company offering partial ownership of royalties from new tracks to music fans: Fans invest on globalrockstar.com in new releases of up-and-coming artists and receive in return monthly royalties from the exploitation of the respective music rights for 70 years. The funds collected on the platform are used by the Global Rockstar Label & publishing to promote and market the tracks.
In 2021 we started with Music NFTs, enabling music fans to secure the shares they purchase on Global Rockstar in the blockchain.
Do you have small habits that made a meaningful impact on your life and business?
Christof Straub: Sleep 8 hours a day, set 3-4 priorities a day, practice kindness & love
How does Global Rockstarmarket its product/services online?
Christof Straub: We use social media ads and blog PR and continuously build up our community channels.
What specific tools, software, and management skills are you using to manage your online marketing?
Christof Straub: We use slack, asana, and different other tools for project management of our marketing activities.
We have a great team of ambitious young experts loving what they do and constantly striving for improvement of their skills.
What is your hiring policy/process, and how do you retain your employees?
Christof Straub: We hire young people who love music and have already gained some working experience in their field.
We retain our employees by caring for the best possible working conditions, a friendly working atmosphere, and a beautiful office that feels like a big living room where friends come together. We praise the successes of our employees and assist them in failures.
How are you funding your growth?
Christof Straub: We are funded by 14 private shareholders and are about to close a big funding round that will guarantee our international expansion.
Who are your competitors? And how do you plan to stay in the game?
Christof Straub: We have a first-mover advantage vis-à-vis our competition. Compared to our competitors, who started similar models in late 2021, we have already distributed monthly royalties to music investors for 3 years. Some music investors have already made 6 times their investment after just one year of the release of the track they invested in. None of our competitors has reached such successes, and none has a fully functional platform yet.
Tell us a customer success story of yours?
Christof Straub: In 2020, we signed a 16-year-old Austrian singer, Chris Steger. The same year, we offered music fans to invest in his debut recording. The track became Austrias biggest hit of the year, and music investors made 600% ROI in just one year but continue to participate in revenues from streams & radio for the coming 69 years.
Your final thoughts?
Christof Straub: We constantly strive to find new creative ways of maximizing success for our artists and music investors.
We are the biggest fan of our own artists and live it every day.
The pursuit of innovation is deeply rooted in our DNA.
0 Comments