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FilmTrack, whose software simplifies the complex process of managing and making money from intellectual property, has just received a $10 million Series B funding round investment and has bought music licensing software company Dashbox for an undisclosed amount. Dashbox’s founder Dave Goldberg will join the board. Series B investors were led by Insight Venture Partners and Goldberg, with participation from FilmTrack founders Jason and Stephen Kassin.
“We’re excited about the acquisition of Dashbox, this new round of funding and, most of all, Dave joining our Board — all of which will allow FilmTrack to expand its footprint in the music industry and achieve increased growth and success across other verticals,” said CEO Jason Kassin in a statement.
Hollywood studios have large libraries of content that come with complex royalties and contract rules. FilmTrack helps those companies keep all of that information straight. Without some sort of management system, it can be difficult for studio sales and marketing teams to know properties they can and should sell. Moreover, because movies come with a long paper trail of royalty costs, FilmTrack also helps properly report and allocate payments. More than 200 companies use FilmTrack’s software to manage their intellectual property.
Newly acquired Dashbox provides a similar service to the music industry, and gives FilmTrack an entry into that market. Dashbox helps manage source, update and host licensed library music content. The Dashbox database includes titles from over 130 distributors of production music and sound effects. It represents over four million compositions and sound recordings. FilmTrack’s purchase of Dashbox is its second acquisition this year — earlier it acquired Pasadena-based intellectual rights management software company Jaguar Consulting.
As the economy becomes increasingly based around digital properties, the ability to manage and make money from intellectual property will be more important. In particular, film and music intellectual property owners will want to maximize the profitability of their content library. They are also evermore keen to not cannibalize their revenue streams through new distribution methods. Record companies, for example, are looking for new ways to make money after splashing out their music properties on streaming platforms like Spotify. Streaming music doesn’t pay as well as record sales.
Intellectual property isn’t unique to the film and music industries. Most modern tech companies are built around a portfolio of patented technologies as well. So managing and monetizing such technology is their priority too. Look to see more companies like FilmTrack in the future.
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