SBI Digital Markets Taps Global Music Royalties Boom with Record USD 30m IP-Backed Bond
SBI Digital Markets (SBIDM) has cemented its foothold in the burgeoning sector of Real-World Asset (RWA) securitization, announcing the successful closure of Asia's largest music Intellectual Property (IP) deal for 2025. The transaction, valued at US$30 million, involves the issuance of bonds backed by a new music album and a portfolio of performing rights.
The deal, finalized in early 2026, represents the Singapore-licensed firm's third commercialization of tokenized assets in a six-month period. It follows SBIDM's recent expansion into alternative asset classes, including a luxury wine RWA project launched in Korea and Thailand last September, and a tokenized money market fund introduced in Europe in May.
This latest issuance underscores a significant shift in institutional sentiment toward music copyrights as a viable asset class. Amid rising global music revenues and the stabilization of digital streaming models, debt financing backed by music rights has surged. Market data indicates that global private equity and institutional investors raised a record USD 4.4bn in such debt by the third quarter of 2025, a dramatic increate from just USD 300m in 2021.
CK Ong, Acting Chief Executive Officer of SBIDM, framed the deal as a strategic move to prioritize compliance over market volatility. "While much of the market cashes in on the hype of tokenized products, our priority at SBIDM has always been disciplined, regulated execution of structures and guardrails for issuers and investors," Ong said.
He added that the firm's strategy focuses on combining traditional capital market structures with digital asset innovation to provide access to new asset classes "without compromising on regulatory integrity."
As a subsidiary of Japan’s financial conglomerate SBI Group, SBIDM is leveraging its parent company’s digital asset infrastructure and network across 26 countries to court institutional capital. Looking ahead, the firm has signaled plans to accelerate its deal pipeline in 2026, targeting further collaborations with IP holders and asset owners across Asia and Europe.
Norbert Gehrke
