Everyday Tennesseans can now profit from songwriting royalties

By Steve Wildsmith / [email protected] “The Invest Tennessee Exemption allowed us to create Nashville Royalty and solicit people who You don’t have to be a hit — or even can invest in our mutual fund. They can buy single have the ability to pen a lyric at all — to make song shares, but the better play is to buy a unit in money in the music business these days. Nashville Royalty, so you’re buying a piece of an Thanks to changes in Tennessee law and the entire catalog of songs.” ingenuity of Nashville businessman Jeff Tweel, The minimum point of entry is $100, and at the state residents of all income levels can purchase moment, the catalog is of modest size. However, shares in songs owned by Nashville Royalty, a Tweel and his partners already have some chart- subsidiary of the company Music Stock Exchange. topping songs by iconic artists — Lee Greenwood’s Some of those tracks, Tweel told The Daily Times “Ring on Her Finger,” Martina McBride’s “Safe In in December, have proven lucrative for the artists The Arms of Love,” who recorded them — Reba, George Strait, Restless Heart’s Martina McBride, Lee Brice, Conway Twitty and “I’ll Still Be Loving more — and will likely continue to do so for those You” and Lee who own a share of the rights to those songs. Brice’s “Heart of “It’s kind of like buying real estate, because This Town,” for you’re buying something that’s income- example. And producing right off the bat and has a proven they’re constantly history,” Tweel said. “Whereas we’re relatively looking for new to the business, all of the copyrights we opportunities for acquire are at least 16 years old, so the track new purchases. record is built into the song.” “Sometimes the Nashville Royalty grew out of Music Stock writer or rights Lee Brice Exchange, a company founded by Tweel and his owner falls on son, who’s an attorney. It was originally intended hard times and wants a cash event in their life, to be a platform where artists and writers could and we can offer them a multiple of their yearly display their music and have it sold in aggregated earnings depending on what their station in life shares to third parties; Tweel and his team acted is at the moment decide to make a move and sell as middle men and brokers to facilitate the buying out,” Tweel said. “The general public can’t buy and selling of publishing copyrights. Even though the rights to songs any other way, unless you’re the venture gained a great deal of attention from in the music business as a publisher or as an both artists and business types, they quickly investor who comes in and learns the business discovered that SEC regulations prohibited the from inside out.” solicitation of security sales over the internet. Sometimes their interest is rebuked; other The Jobs Act of 2012, however, deregulated the times, they scoop up songs that might not make prohibition of using solicitation to sell securities, savvy investment sense on the surface but can pay and in Tennessee, the Invest Tennessee dividends down the road, he added. Exemption made equity crowdfunding legal in the “Take a song like ‘Safe in the Arms of Love’ — Volunteer State. it’s been almost 20 years since it was a hit, but we “Tennessee became the only state to offer a way feel like it’s due for another life through re- around that prohibition, so anyone, if they’re a recording or use in TV and film,” he said. “We, Tennessee resident, can come to our website for having acquired an ownership interest in these example, and make an investment,” Tweel said. songs, are now trying to enhance the value, and if “Coincidental of that, we decided to acquire we do that, that 12 percent cash yield for investors ownership to rights of certain songs; instead of could spike dramatically. functioning as middlemen, we decided to obtain “It’s just a small way for somebody to feather ownership in as many songs as we could that are their own nest, plus it’s actual ownership of a little iconic songs, No. 1 or top 10 songs by noted piece of music history.” artists, and create what basically amounts to a mutual fund. Contact: Lance Cowan • LCMedia • (615) 331-1710 • [email protected] • www.lancecowanmedia.com