Albert Carter grew up in Germantown and attended Chestnut Hill College, but his career in music and education took him some 7,000 miles away to Dubai. Now he hopes his self-described "music fintech" startup, AudioSwim, can traverse those miles to take part in what he sees as a growing digital economy and music scene in Philadelphia.
AudioSwim operates in part like a modern music agency, but it is also heavily involved in blockchain technology and NFTs. It provides services in a number of different areas, including public relations, advising, fan engagement and data analytics — all with the overarching goal of helping artists monetize and scale their music internationally. It is also a platform that helps artists create and leverage NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, as another revenue stream.
Everything the startup offers is bespoke and artists can pick which services they want to use.
Based in Dubai, AudioSwim currently works with 65 artists who have collectively amassed over 2 million streams. Those artists have reached the top of the charts in their respective countries, like Nigerian artist Rema, whose song "Calm Down," recorded with Selena Gomez, has held the top spot on the newly launched MENA Chart, the first official music chart in the Middle East and North Africa, for three straight weeks. That's an accomplishment that made Carter confident he could bring his model to the U.S., specifically Philadelphia.
The expansion to Philadelphia will be the startup's first foray into the American market, but not Carter's. He hopes to use his established connections to bring more artists to the platform.
Carter said he still talks to musicians in Philadelphia's urban music scene and sees "some gaps in the market."
"I'm going to advocate for the city where I'm from and I know some of the talent," Carter said. "I've been looking at a lot of different projects that [are] coming out of Philadelphia and a lot of them are NFT-based, a lot of it is technology-based, but it's not too many music-based projects. I think we can have an advantage on that."
Carter said he hopes to add 50 users per month to the platform through the Philadelphia expansion. He has already established partnerships and plans to work with local talent managers like Batcave Studio CEO Biz Porter as well as Dutch from Philadelphia hip-hop group Major Figgas.
"I feel like the talent as well as the digital economy in Philadelphia is growing and I would love to be a part of it," he said.
A growing number of local companies, celebrities and organizations have leaned into the NFT space recently. For example, Wawa launched an NFT for Hoagiefest and pro athletes Devonta Smith of the Eagles and James Harden of the Sixers have NFT-related ventures. Even the University of Pennsylvania released an NFT to commemorate a scientific breakthrough in the fight against Covid-19.
But the music scene remains largely untapped. Carter hopes to add AudioSwim to the growing list of digital-forward initiatives and will draw on his past experiences in Philadelphia to do so.
After graduating from Chestnut Hill College, Carter worked briefly in the School District of Philadelphia while still investing time into music. He worked with Batcave Studios at 3525 I St., which has produced the likes of renowned Philadelphia rappers Meek Mill, PnB Rock and Gillie Da Kid.
Carter later moved to Charlotte to attend the Charlotte School of Law, where he studied part-time while also teaching middle and high school math full-time. Still, he kept his eye on music. In Charlotte, he worked closely with rappers DaBaby and Deniro Farrar, booking public appearances and shows for them.
At 32, Carter took an opportunity to teach in Dubai. A few years later he founded Emirates Music Summit, an event organization working to improve music industry standards in the United Arab Emirates. The idea for AudioSwim came a few months later, and he founded the startup in July 2020.
AudioSwim has received $80,000 in venture capital investment from backers outside the U.S. Carter sees opportunity for Philadelphia artists to expand locally and to regions like North Africa and the Middle East through AudioSwim.
"I'm going to focus on Philadelphia as the starting point because that's the community where I'm close to and I think it can really grow," Carter said. "The talent in Philadelphia is amazing, always been amazing. I don't think it gets enough shine. Being that I'm directly in one of the most toured countries on the planet Earth, I would like to see how we can move talent around the globe."
