Frequently Asked Questions

A master recording right (or master tape) is the right protecting the recording of a performance made by artists and musicians.

It is an economic right that protects the version of a recording.

In practice, it is the property of the producer.

A publishing right consists of the lyrics and the composition of the music.

It is the score/the sheet so to speak. In practice, it is created by songwriters and the property of the publishers and the songwriters.

• Streaming/online listening
• Online video clip views
• Downloads
• Physical sales (CDs, cassettes, vinyl)
• Synchronisation contracts, i.e. the placement of sound recordings in movies, TV shows and commercials

• Audiovisual licences (video games, etc.)
• Concerts and live performances
• Public broadcasting revenue
• Radio licence fees
• Royalties for cafés/hotels/restaurants/nightclubs
• Synchronisation contracts, i.e. the placement of lyrics and score in films, TV shows and commercials

Royalties are distributed by the platform, in $USDC, directly to the digital wallet of each holder, on the payment date indicated for each asset.

Royalties are paid at intervals that can vary from song to song. These frequencies vary from every 30 days to every 6 months.

The amount of royalties paid is calculated on the basis of the total commercial revenue generated by the track over a given period. It corresponds to a percentage of these revenues, after deduction of a 3% processing fee charged by the platform.

It is impossible to reliably estimate the amount of royalties, as this amount is influenced by many factors.

However, it is certain that the more a song is listened to, played and grows in popularity, the higher the amount of royalties per share will be.

To get an idea of the amounts, you can refer to the 'Payment history' section on each asset page.

NB: Past performance is not a guide to future performance, and there is no guarantee that the same statistics will be maintained.

There are no additional charges for holders of shares in pieces. The platform deducts a 3% processing fee directly from each amount, after collection and just before payment.

Periods are used to determine a start and end date between which commercial operating revenues are booked.

In practice, royalties paid involve commercial revenues that were generated 3 months or more before the payment date.

The beneficiary of the royalties is the holder of the asset on the day of payment.

If an asset is listed for sale, but has not yet been purchased, the user who created the sell order will be the beneficiary of the payment.

Furthermore, royalties are not calculated on a pro rata basis according to the number of days held. They relate to the entire period of operation, regardless of the day on which the asset was acquired.

You can check your payment history directly in your dashboard, in the 'Royalties' tab.

A Song Share lets you invest in a single musical work.

It is a debt instrument—or bond—tokenized as a digital asset, giving its holder the right to receive a proportional share of the future income generated by that song, from either publishing rights (lyrics and composition) or master rights (recording and performance).

Song Shares are issued by a rights' holder who decides to share a portion of the revenues from a specific song.

Each Song Share entitles the holder to a share of royalties actually collected from the commercial use of that work.

A Catalog Share lets you invest in a curated collection of multiple musical works.

It functions as a debt instrument—or bond—tokenized as a digital asset, granting the holder a proportional share of the revenues generated by several works, based on publishing or master rights.

Catalog Shares are issued by a rights' holder who chooses to monetize a portion of the future revenues from their catalog.

Each Catalog Share entitles the holder to a share of the royalties effectively collected from the commercial exploitation of the entire catalog.

Our assets are tokenized debt instruments backed by future royalty revenues from music rights.

Each asset represents a claim—defined by a fixed amount and term—on a share of royalties generated by the use of a specific work or catalog.

In practice, an asset gives the holder a share of the net revenue from either publishing rights (lyrics & composition) or master rights (recording), depending on the terms set at issuance.

The income tied to each asset is directly linked to the commercial use of the underlying music rights, without transferring ownership of those rights to the investor.

Song Shares and Catalog Shares are a unique tool enabling artists, producers and composers to sell a discretionary share of their master or publishing rights at a fair price, without losing creative control over their work, and finally, by continuing to earn income through the secondary market.

Song Shares and Catalog Shares make the holder an economic partner, and therefore a beneficiary of the income generated by a song or a group of songs.

The period of validity of an asset on Bolero simply depends on the duration offered by each seller, and the type of underlying music rights.

In the case of an asset tied to Masters Rights, the term may vary from 10 years to the entire life of the right.

In the case of an asset linked to Publishing Rights, the term is generally linked to the life of the right, i.e. up to 70 years after the death of the last songwriter who contributed to the creation of the work.

The term of each asset is specified on each asset page, as well as in the contracts and summary information documents.

The yield of a music asset made available on Bolero is measured as a percentage on an annualized basis. It is defined by the amount of royalties paid per asset, based on the last price, on a 12-month scale.

The formula is as follows:
Monthly payment per unit ($) * 12 / Last price recorded on the market ($) * 100.

Each time a transaction is recorded on the secondary market, and therefore as soon as the asset ownership changes, the price of the asset is updated. In effect, while the amount of royalties paid per asset is stable, the yield percentage fluctuates with each price change on the secondary market.

It is important to reiterate that past performance is no guarantee of future performance.

Tokenized assets on Bolero are secured by 3 attributes:

They are recorded on the blockchain, a technology that guarantees the traceability and immutability of each asset.

They all contain a contract signed by the seller (artist, producer, composer) and Bolero's legal representative.

Investors have full ownership of their assets, via digital portfolios assigned to each account (internal or external), which are fully independent of the platform.

All artists, producers, composers, labels, publishers... In short, anyone in the industry who owns music rights (master and/or publishing), either in their own name or through a company.

Simply register on the platform as an Artist, or contact our Music team.

Bolero reserves the right to accept or reject any application.

Two kinds of music rights and their revenue shares can be sold and traded on Bolero:

• Revenues from master rights (on the recording).
• Revenues from editorial/publishing rights (on the lyrics and score).

Creative control is preserved by design. In each contract, it is specified that the artist, producer or composer does not give up his or her right to control the exploitation of the work.

Bolero has created a Music Department that shapes the catalog with a precise balance between established and developing artists. The department has 3 complementary missions:

• Observe the industry and new trends in order to detect and guide talent.
• Evaluate and advise artists who register with Bolero to distribute their digital assets.
• Build and animate our ecosystem of partners (management, labels, producers) to ensure that all stakeholders benefit equitably from our value proposition.

In this way, new songs are added to the catalog on an ad hoc basis according to their artistic cycles and the interest of our community.

The initial sale price is set by the artist in agreement with Bolero, usually in the range of $10 to $29.

The percentage contained per asset depends exclusively on the total percentage the artist wishes to sell, which will be distributed fairly and evenly.

Yes, artists, producers and composers continue to generate income with every trade on the secondary market.

You only have to pay the listing fee (less than $0.01ct) with your digital wallet.

It's possible to put an asset up for sale from the market page or from the asset page.

Each seller decides the selling price. However, for the sale to be finalised, another user must decide to accept this price and proceed with payment.

Indefinitely, until the seller decides to cancel it, or another user decides to accept it.

The commission on assets secondary sales ranges from 1.7% to 5%, at the expense of the seller.

From your dashboard, in the Activity tab.

No, because we use decentralized technology, assets that have been moved from one digital wallet to another cannot be reversed.

You can view your sales history directly in your dashboard, in the Activity tab.

Yes, it is possible to use a banking card to buy song shares on the primary market.

For the secondary market, you need to top up the digital wallet of your Bolero account with a banking card.

Yes, it's possible to use Apple Pay or Google Pay to buy Song Shares on the primary market.

Yes, it is possible to connect an external wallet to Bolero to make purchases on the primary and secondary market.

This wallet must be connected to the Polygon network (the platform will prompt you to make the change automatically), and be supplied with $POL and $USDC.

You can fund your wallet from your digital wallet settings.

Yes, payments are possible exclusively in $USDC on the Polygon network.

To deposit or withdraw funds, click on the wallet icon at the top right of your dashboard. From there, select "Deposit" or "Withdraw", then choose one of our payment partners: Transak or Moonpay.

These regulated providers handle deposits and withdrawals via credit card or bank transfer.

Note: These partners are authorized to request identity verification (KYC) in order to complete the transaction in accordance with regulatory requirements.

The approval transaction allows Bolero to obtain permission to use your USDC from your wallet.
If you are having difficulty approving your USDC, please contact us by email or on Discord.

Here is a guide on how to complete an approval transaction when you start the purchase process:

In your wallet, approve Bolero to access the USDC you wish to use for your purchase.

Your wallet may ask you to enter the number of USDC you wish to approve. Please enter a number greater than or equal to the quantity of USDC you need for the purchase.

Note that we set the maximum quantity by default in order to reduce future interactions. In fact, if you leave the parameter set, you will never have to carry out this authorization transaction again and can therefore save network costs.

In your wallet, authorize the USDC to be used for the purchase. This transaction will incur network charges.

Confirm the purchase in your wallet. This transaction will incur network charges.

Once the purchase has been confirmed, the transaction is submitted to the blockchain (pending).
You will see a green tick on the screen when the transaction is successfully completed.

The approval transaction allows Bolero to obtain permission to transfer your assets from your digital wallet.
If you are having difficulty approving your assets, please contact us by email or on Discord.

Here is a guide on how to complete an approval transaction when you start the listing process:

In your wallet, approve Bolero to access the assets you wish to sell.

We use the setApprovalForAll in order to reduce future interactions. In fact, you will never have to carry out this approval transaction again and can therefore save network costs.

In your wallet, authorize the assets to be transferred to the marketplace. This transaction will incur network charges.

Confirm the listing in your wallet. This transaction will incur network charges.

Once the listing has been confirmed, the transaction is submitted to the blockchain (pending).
You will see a green tick on the screen when the transaction is successfully completed.

The Bolero XP is the indicator of the Bolero users' community.

The XP corresponds to experience points that are unlocked and accumulated as a user performs actions on the platform.

Depending on the number of XP a user has, he or she progresses through the levels, unlocks increasingly prestigious roles, and earns rewards such as free song shares and discounts.

Bolero XP levels are stages that users reach according to the number of XP they have earned.

There are 20 levels to reach in Bolero XP.

For more information, find your Bolero XP in your dashboard > Community > Quests section.

Roles are designations that users are assigned according to the last level they reached, and therefore the number of XP they earned.

They are also intended to highlight the most committed users with the strongest musical flair.

These roles are increasingly prestigious, and are unlocked in the following order: Newbie, New Talent, Curator, Specialist, Prodigy, Phenomenon, Boss, Legend.

For more information, find your Bolero XP in your dashboard > Community > Quests section.

Find your Bolero XP and the full list of roles in your dashboard >Community > Quests section.

Rewards are surprises, and can take the form of free song shares or discounts.

The multiplier is a booster that multiplies the number of XP a user unlocks.

This multiplier can increase up to x3 thanks to the number of consecutive daily connections.

2 days in a row = x1.2
3 days in a row = x1.3
4 days in a row = x1.4
5 days in a row = x1.6
6 days in a row = x1.8
7 days in a row = x2
15 days in a row = x2.5
30 days in a row = x3

If you continue to log on every day for more than 30 days in a row, you keep your multiplier at x3.

If you miss a day, your multiplier will be reset to x1.

The Bolero XP leaderboard ranks Bolero users according to the number of XP they have accumulated since creating their Bolero account.

In order to earn experience points for the daily login, you must follow the following rule: each login must occur within 24 hours of your last login. For example, if you log in at 10:00 on Monday, you will be eligible for experience points if you log in between 10:01 on Tuesday and 9:59 on Wednesday.

To refer new users, all you have to do is share your referral link with them, who will then have to register with Bolero from your link.

On your Invite page, you'll find a list of users who have registered with your link, who has made their first transaction, and what rewards you've earned.

If a user signs up using your referral link and completes their first purchase, you’ll receive 80 XP points, and they will receive a 10% discount on their next primary market transaction.
Note: Discounts do not apply to offers listed on the secondary market board.

Yes, you can follow other users and receive notifications keeping you up to date with their activity on the platform.

You receive several types of notification, depending on the profiles you follow, the assets you hold and those you've added to your watchlist.

Currently, it is not possible to transfer assets to other users.

All Bolero users can see your song catalog if they visit your profile.

Only you can know the value of your catalog and the royalties you've earned.

Average annual yield (APY) is an indicator designed to show the percentage of yield a user receives, scaled over a year.

It is updated regularly, and is based on the amount of transactions carried out, as well as the amount of royalties received.

To deposit or withdraw funds, use the tool provided by our partners directly from your wallet settings.

The Watchlist is a list that each user owns and can add to by clicking on the 'star' icon.

It allows users to receive notifications on the market activity and commercial performance of each asset.

You can add and remove assets from your watchlist by clicking on the 'star' icon.

Earnings generated from your music assets on Bolero—such as royalties or capital gains—may be subject to taxation depending on your country of residence.

To track your capital gains, go to your account settings, then to the "Documents" section, where you can generate a report for the period of your choice.

Note for European Union tax residents: Under EU tax law, royalties and capital gains are generally subject to the Flat Tax (Prélèvement Forfaitaire Unique – PFU). Only the amounts converted from USDC to EUR and withdrawn to a bank account are subject to this tax. (Date: April 22, 2025)

As tax regulations vary across jurisdictions, we strongly recommend consulting a tax advisor or certified accountant in your country to ensure compliance with your local laws.

No, your account on Bolero is not considered a foreign financial account under French or EU tax law.

The music rights you acquire through Bolero are held directly by you via a non-custodial wallet that you control entirely. This wallet is associated with your identity and is considered as located in your country of tax residence.

No foreign account is opened in your name when using Bolero, and no foreign account reporting requirement applies in this context.

No, in accordance with our terms of service, each buyer waives the right to a refund. The conditions are to be consulted when creating an account on Bolero.

No, in accordance with our terms of service, we guarantee the veracity of the musical rights (master and editions/publishing) attached to each piece of music, but we do not guarantee the value of the asset over time.

The personal data stored and used by Bolero are:

• E-mail address
• Username
• IP address
• First name
• Last name

You can delete your Bolero account from your account settings.

Please note that if you delete your account, you will lose all your account and activity data, and any assets you own will not be recoverable by Bolero.