Anthony Martini has resurfaced, this time at Exceed Talent Capital, the fan-focused marketplace he now guides as president.
The music industry veteran will lead the company’s mission of delivering alternative funding sources for artists and developing new channels and platforms for fans to engage with their favorite creators.
Martini boasts more than 20 years’ experience across the music industry, having worked closely with the likes of Tyga, Killer Mike, Lil Dicky and IDK.
He was founder and CEO of Commission Music, which enjoyed U.S. chart success with Lil Dicky, MadeinTYO, Derez De’Shon and others, thanks to a model and ethos built on flexibility and direct conversations with artists, he told Billboard in an interview published in 2018.
Also, Martini served as CEO of Royalty Exchange from 2021 until earlier this year, and was chief music officer for royalty-free music library Slip.stream until early June.
While Martini wears his disruptor tag with a sense of pride, a virtual artist project FN Meka ended on a sour note. Following a public uproar claiming the AR (augmented reality) rapper perpetuated racist stereotypes, Capitol Records dropped the project, and Martini would later distance himself from it.
When the FN Meka story made global headlines in August, the project had over 10 million TikTok followers and millions of song streams.
“Throughout my career, I’ve sought new opportunities for artists to express themselves without limitation, financially or otherwise,” comments Martini on his new post. “By partnering with Exceed, artists maintain ultimate control over their careers while sharing a piece of it with their fans. They gain access to new revenue streams while building deeper connections with people who care about their success. It’s like the Robinhood of talent, and it’s game-changing.”
Yori Nelken, Exceed’s CEO adds, “We are excited to have Anthony on board because his unique experience with talent and fans compliments our team of high-tech entrepreneurs, investment bankers, and securitization experts.”
With Martini joining the team, “we look forward to offering participation opportunities with some of the world’s top talent,” Nelken adds in a statement.
His appointment, which Billboard exclusively announces today (Oct. 12), follows Exceed’s successful raising of $8 million in seed capital for new SEC-complaint ventures that are expected to bring creatives, investors, and fans together on music and art-led projects, reps say.
The funding round was led by private investment firm BRM Group, with participation from the global online venture investing platform OurCrowd and others.
Exceed’s app is available in Google Play and the App Store.
