Coop Records
4 known investors
Web3 music venture founded by Cooper Turley, investing in music startups and artists and issuing tradable song-linked coins.
Also known as Coop Records
Investors · 4
Also in the syndicate · 1
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Coop Records is a Web3/on-chain music venture founded by Cooper Turley. It launched as what Billboard described as the first dedicated Web3 music fund, with $10 million to invest in early-stage companies building at the intersection of music and crypto, and to back musicians directly. The majority of the capital was earmarked for pre-seed and seed-stage Web3 companies, though the founder said Web2 startups that could add 'Web3 rails' were also in scope. A small portion of the fund was reserved for direct investment in approximately five artists.
The artist-investment approach differs from a traditional record label's catalog purchases: instead of acquiring rights song-by-song or album-by-album, Coop Records proposed setting up a company around the artist that captures income from streaming, touring, NFT sales, merchandise, sync and publishing, with the artist selling small equity stakes in that entity while retaining ownership of the music. The founder acknowledged open questions in the model, including how to establish a starting valuation for emerging artists and the consequences for the artist–fan relationship if fan investments decline in value, and said the model would likely not replace traditional labels because artists still need distribution.
By mid-2025, industry mapping of the music-crypto sector described Coop Records as having moved on from the NFT model to 'songcoins': liquid, tradable coins attached to individual songs, cited as more liquid than NFTs because a trading pool always exists. One example given was a coin for NOTION's 'Days' remix with a market capitalization of about $150,000. Coop Records was also reported to be working with large independent labels such as Ninja Tune and BitBird.
Founding story
The fund was founded by Cooper Turley, a curator and collector in the Web3 music space and an angel investor in more than a dozen music NFT platforms including Royal, Audius and Catalog. He was previously a venture partner at Variant Fund, sourcing deals for the fund. After stepping back from Variant and from a leadership role at the crypto social club Friends With Benefits following the resurfacing of derogatory tweets he had posted between 2011 and 2014, Turley concentrated on music NFTs, worked with artist Daniel Allan, launched an artist accelerator and then founded Coop Records.
Business model
Coop Records began as an investment vehicle: a fund deploying capital mainly into pre-seed and seed-stage Web3 companies, with a smaller allocation reserved for direct investment in roughly five artists and their teams. In the artist model, described by its founder as a 'Web360' deal, a company/LLC is formed around the musician so that income from streaming, touring, NFT sales, merch, sync and publishing flows into that entity; the artist retains ownership and control of the music while selling small portions of equity in the overall brand to investors, with the possibility of later issuing a token that could trade on a creator market. More recently the company has operated as an on-chain music platform issuing tradable 'songcoins' tied to individual songs.
Traction
Billboard reported a $10 million fund at launch, with the majority allocated to pre-seed and seed-stage investments and a small portion reserved for around five artists. A 2025 sector map cites a songcoin for NOTION's 'Days' remix with roughly $150,000 in market capitalization and relationships with independent labels Ninja Tune and BitBird. A crypto-news article reports $4.5 million raised across two rounds for the music launch platform.
Latest developments
A July 2025 sector map lists Coop Records among still-active new-model companies in music and crypto, noting its shift to 'songcoins' — tradable coins for each song — with an example coin for NOTION's 'Days' remix carrying about a $150,000 market cap, and its work with independent labels Ninja Tune and BitBird. Separate crypto-news coverage reports the company raised $4.5 million across two rounds for its music launch platform, led by 1kx and Nascent with participation from 1confirmation and CB Ventures via the Base Ecosystem Fund.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, history, risks & controversies
Market position
Coop Records was presented as the first dedicated Web3 music fund at launch and, as of mid-2025, as one of a small group of active new-model companies in a music-crypto sector that had contracted sharply after the 2021–22 NFT hype cycle, during which many music DAOs and seed-stage creator-economy startups became inactive and platforms such as Sound.xyz, Catalog and Royal pivoted.
Coop Records positions itself as a music-specific Web3 investor and operator rather than a generalist crypto fund, combining company investment with direct equity stakes in artist entities. Its later 'songcoin' approach is framed as offering continuous liquidity for song-linked assets, in contrast to NFTs, allowing a song's value to be priced by an open market against its real-world traction. The founder also described a portfolio philosophy in which companies share code, infrastructure and assets rather than compete in silos.
Technology
The company operates on blockchain rails, initially through music NFTs and subsequently through 'songcoins' — fungible, tradable coins tied to individual songs and backed by liquidity pools that allow continuous buying and selling. Its wider thesis includes on-chain royalties, membership cards, ticketing and secondary markets.
Go-to-market
Coop Records reaches the market through direct investment in Web3 music startups and in individual artists and their teams, and, in its later phase, through song-linked coin launches and relationships with established independent labels including Ninja Tune and BitBird.
Early-stage Web3 (and some Web2) music and creator-economy companies, emerging recording artists and their teams, independent record labels, and crypto-native music collectors and fans who trade song-linked assets.
History
Coop Records was launched by Cooper Turley as the first dedicated Web3 music fund, raising $10 million to invest in early-stage Web3 companies and in artists directly (Billboard). Before founding it, Turley worked with artist Daniel Allan and launched an artist accelerator. As of mid-2025 the company was described as having shifted away from the music NFT model toward 'songcoins' — liquid, tradable coins for individual songs — and as working with large independent labels including Ninja Tune and BitBird.
Risks & controversies
Billboard reported that founder Cooper Turley's career has drawn controversy: derogatory tweets he posted between 2011 and 2014 containing racial and homophobic slurs resurfaced in January; he apologized, was removed from a leadership role at the crypto social club Friends With Benefits and stepped back from his position at Variant Fund. The artist-equity model itself is described as experimental, with unresolved questions about valuing emerging artists and about fan relationships if investments lose value. The broader Web3 music sector is characterized in a 2025 sector map as being in a 'trough of disillusionment', with sharply reduced funding and many peers shutting down or pivoting.
Compiled by commissioned research from 5 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 3
launches, deals, and filingsCoop Records reported as working with large independent labels including Ninja Tune and BitBird.
After years working with the music NFT model, Coop Records refocused on 'songcoins' — liquid, tradable coins issued for individual songs. An example cited is a coin for NOTION's 'Days' remix with a roughly $150,000 market cap.
Coop Records, described as the first dedicated Web3 music fund, raised $10 million from a number of Web3 founders and investors to invest in early-stage companies and to back individual artists directly, according to Billboard.
$10M source ↗
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
In the news
▸Research sources · 5
primary sources listed
5 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Coop Records do?
- Web3 music venture founded by Cooper Turley, investing in music startups and artists and issuing tradable song-linked coins.
- Who are Coop Records's investors?
- Coop Records's investors include 1k(x), 1kx, Coinbase Ventures.