Soneium, the Ethereum layer 2 blockchain developed by Sony Group and Startale Group, has partnered with South Korean entertainment company DayOneDream to bring K-pop intellectual property and related revenue onchain as tokenized assets.
DayOneDream manages artists including BTOB, Lee Chae Yeon, MeMi, and 2F, and also runs concert and music publishing operations. Under the partnership, its tokenization platform WAVIST will be paired with Soneium’s blockchain. The companies are set to present the arrangement at a WAVIST event in Seoul on Tuesday during Korea Blockchain Week.
How the structure is being pitched to fans
The companies said the deal is designed to let fans share in revenue generated by the IP behind the acts they follow. Eligible users would receive tokenized exposure to revenue from concerts, streaming, and music rights, while rights holders would gain a new funding source.
Who qualifies will depend on regulation, according to the companies. They did not say when the first assets will be offered, which artists’ IP will come first, or how large any offering will be.
Dylan Cho, real-world asset lead at DayOneDream, said in the announcement, 「K-pop is a market unlike any other, yet the way capital reaches it has barely changed. Our partnership with Soneium sits where RWA, IP, and K-pop meet, and it opens a real path to investing through the IP itself.」
What WAVIST has done before
The companies said WAVIST finished repaying a tokenized bond in May that had been issued to finance K-pop IP, and the bond tokens were later burned. They did not disclose the size of that deal.
In March, IP Strategy, a Nasdaq-listed company that holds Story’s token as its primary reserve asset, said WAVIST’s first asset sales, carried out with Korea’s Kyobo Life Insurance and Singapore’s SBI Digital Markets, raised $3.22 million. It also said a $15 million fund was being assembled. IP Strategy described WAVIST’s tokenized assets as running on Story, another blockchain focused on IP.
Broader buildout around Soneium and Startale
Startale, Soneium’s co-developer, closed a $63 million Series A round in March with backing from SBI Group and Sony Innovation Fund. The money was said to be aimed mostly at scaling Strium, a blockchain for tokenized securities.
Yuji Kumagai, head of Soneium Protocol, said in the announcement, 「K-pop is a great place to start, and we will keep bringing more entertainment IP onto Soneium.」