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About OpenWav
OpenWav is a one-stop platform for musicians, designed to help independent artists connect directly with fans and earn money.
On traditional music platforms, artists often receive only meager streaming revenue, making it hard to sustain a career. OpenWav allows artists to sell concert tickets and merchandise directly on the platform, keeping 80% of the revenue while the platform charges a 20% service fee. Fans who purchase tickets automatically join exclusive chat groups, enabling artists to communicate directly with them and build a close community. Artists also own fan data such as email addresses and phone numbers, no longer being at the mercy of platform algorithms.
Additionally, OpenWav provides AI tools to help artists design merchandise, generate album covers or lyric videos, and even suggest tour locations. In the past six months, OpenWav has been continuously improving its product, launching iOS and Android apps, and plans to introduce more AI features in phase two. However, the platform is still in its early stages, with limited user scale and less influence compared to mainstream platforms.
OpenWav, originally launched as OP3N, initially focused on blockchain and Web3 technology while emphasizing AI capabilities. In 2021, the company secured a $10 million funding round. In 2023, it raised $28 million in a Series A round with participation from Warner Music Group and other investors. In June 2025, the platform officially relaunched as OpenWav during A2IM Indie Week in New York, pivoting to an all-in-one AI-powered music platform. Grammy-winning artist Wyclef Jean joined as Chief Music Officer, and former Sony Music and Amazon Music executive Madeline Nelson came aboard as senior advisor. The platform integrates music streaming with social commerce, ticketing, and fan communities, allowing artists to earn 80% of ticket profits and generate five figures per week in early testing. OpenWav is co-led by 88rising co-founder Jaeson Ma as CEO and Eric Tu as COO.
Key progress in the past six months (2026-03-07 to 2026-09-07):
In April 2026, OpenWav launched OpenWav Artist Bank, a financing platform backed by Snafu Records and Pophouse Entertainment. It offers independent artists cash advances of $8,000 to high-seven figures based on streaming royalties, with a 70/30 revenue split in the artist's favor. This marks a major expansion from its core direct-to-fan commerce model into artist financing.
Official future focus and roadmap:
OpenWav plans to integrate Artist Bank into a broader creator operating system, expanding capital products, fan monetization tools, e-commerce, and data analytics. The goal is to help artists build sustainable, long-term businesses while maintaining direct fan relationships and full ownership of their catalogs.
Co-founder & CEO Jaeson Ma: American entrepreneur and investor; co-founder of 88rising, Stampede Ventures, and EST Media Holdings; founder of East West Ventures; has raised/advised on deals totaling over $1B.
Co-founder & COO Eric Tu: Previously worked with brands including Nike, Beats by Dre, and Google; experienced in brand and entertainment marketing.
CTO Carol Chen: Currently Chief Technology Officer at OpenWav, leading technology development.
Chief Music Officer Wyclef Jean: Grammy-winning musician; co-launched OpenWav with Jaeson Ma to help artists monetize directly.