FanDuel Co-Founders Raise $4M for Digital Music Collectible Startup Vault

VAULT, a digital music collectible (DMC) format created by co-founders of sports betting giant FanDuel, has raised $4 million in a Series A funding round led by Placeholder VC. The funding will go toward furthering the DMC format and accelerating development of an open-source VAULT protocol, according to a press release.

Founded by Nigel Eccles and Rob Jones, VAULT’s DMC is a sort of non-fungible token (NFT) for music fans, offering authenticated digital box sets and unique experiences. The VAULT protocol aims to be an open, decentralized standard for purchasing, playing and sharing DMCs through third-party apps.

Last October, VAULT partnered with musician FLETCHER to allow fans to influence the setlist for each night of her tour. Fans were able to choose between four DMC-backed “Dream Sequence” setlists and the winner was performed that night. The tour also included other DMC content, including behind-the-scenes footage. Other artists planning DMC-related content include singer-songwriter Naika and musicians SUM SUN.

“Given their success in founding FanDuel, the team at VAULT understands the power of engaged communities and the importance of consumer-friendly design,” said Placeholder VC partner Chris Burniske in the press release. “Their vision to create an open, protocol-agnostic format has the potential to transform digital music and media ownership, and playability across physical and virtual worlds. We are excited to support the team’s efforts to bring VAULT technology to fan ecosystems within the broader music and media industries.”

Other investors in the round included AlleyCorp, Bullpen Capital and Everblue Management. VAULT has now raised nearly $13 million in funding.

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