Blockchain venture Utopia Music snaps up ISPY Group

Blockchain-powered music data tracking platform Utopia Music has acquired Swedish technology development company ISPY Group for €10 million.

Mattias Hjelmstedt, CEO and Founder of Utopia Music, comments: “We are building an inclusive ecosystem which will benefit all stakeholders in the music world by removing existing inefficiencies and unlocking untracked revenues. Our technology will fuel streamlined rights management, allowing for flexible and customisable payments, as well as providing insightful user data to help artists and businesspeople make more informed decisions.”

The ISPY Group deal will help it build a powerful data communications protocol upon which any third-party can build new products and services, fuelling value creation in the wider music ecosystem, he adds.

“The wealth of tech talent from ISPY Group — composed of more than 30 R&D engineers and designers — and their cutting-edge technological solutions will strengthen our platform and service offering, allowing us to become a leader in the space.”

Crypto Valley

ISPY Group is expected to be fully incorporated into Utopia Music by the end of the year. The latter’s head office, along with management of the group, will continue to run out of Crypto Valley in Zug, Switzerland, with operations, technology, and development being run from Barcelona, Spain and Sweden.

Peter Karlsson, CEO and Strategic Business Developer at ISPY Group, says: “We have always had a bold vision to help our clients change the way they leverage technology, and we are proud to be contributing to the end-to-end digitisation of the music value chain and the revitalisation of the status quo with our deep expertise and knowledge.”

“Joining forces with Utopia Music allows us to strategically pivot from being a consulting business to becoming a product development company, and the engine that powers the music industry,” he concludes.