Artists navigating the music industry often face battles for ownership and control of their craft. Signing a recording contract, if they can secure one, usually requires artists to surrender significant rights to their own creations, leaving them with a limited say in how their projects are managed, crafted, and monetized.
Meanwhile, fans eager to support up-and-coming artists are kept at a distance because the system limits their involvement in the artist's journey. Funding opportunities are also rare, hard to find, and insufficient to bring creative visions to life, especially since only a few large record labels dominate the industry and control the funding, leaving little room for newcomers to secure the resources needed to create and promote their work.
Fortunately, Probal, co-founded and led by Wari Isaac and CTO Yonatan Cohen, provides a powerful solution for empowering artists. With his firsthand experience managing artists during his undergraduate work, Isaac saw the ongoing struggles musicians face, particularly with funding. "Funding for up-and-coming talent is scarce, and options are limited," Isaac explains. In his work with various artists, he frequently encountered financial barriers. "As more artists sought funding, I realized there was a gap. I also realized that many music lovers want to invest in their favorite new artists, but they don't know how and certainly aren't interested in starting a record label."
One notable moment came when he successfully raised $5,000 for a project by an emerging Afrobeats artist. The investment paid off within just four months, and for the next two years, Isaac and his co-investors shared 30% of the project's royalties. This lightbulb moment drove him to build Probal, which is a scalable platform where artists can raise funds directly from fans and music supporters without middlemen taking a cut. Isaac recalls, "We recouped the investment quickly and realized there's a vast community of people like us who love music and want to support emerging talent. That's where Probal comes in-to create a space for artists and fans to grow together."
Probal's comprehensive platform provides new funding opportunities while leaving creative control in the hands of the artists. Fans are able to directly participate in the creative process by supporting projects and artists they believe in. They also gain exclusive access to the musician's content and, of course, are partial owners of those projects through ownership of project tokens and a portion of royalties. "With Probal, we've created a way for fans to become part-owners of their favorite artists' projects. They're not just buying music-they're supporting and participating in a portion of an artist's future success."
The platform's model is simple yet powerful. Artists sign up using crypto wallets or email, submit project details, and set their fundraising goals. Once verified, their projects are listed, and fans can purchase tokens using USDC on the secure Plume Network. As royalties flow in from the artist's work, smart contracts ensure that funds are distributed seamlessly to token holders.
"One of our competitive advantages is that we are first to market, focus on overlooked markets, understand consumer behavior, and offer incentives for both artists and fans." Likewise, Isaac's focus on emerging artists, particularly in niche genres, differentiates it from competitors. "Other platforms aren't looking at these markets-they're not getting their hands dirty. But we know there's immense talent here, and Probal offers a way to bring it to the world. While we are starting with the Afrobeats and African markets, our vision extends far beyond. We plan to explore Latin music. Bollywood, and eventually tap into hip-hop and other major genres. Our focus is on capturing massive, often overlooked markets first, then scaling strategically. Our approach is to start smart, scale progressively, and grow sustainably."
Probal offers more than just a seat at the table in the music industry; it presents a growing, scalable business model with an average project raise of $3,000 USDC for artists. As Isaac sees it, "This is just the beginning. There are so many talented people out there, and Probal gives them the platform to shine."
Learn more about Probal today.
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