David Umeh
David Umeh, is the founder and chief executive officer of Clouty, a Chicago-based company that develops indexes and financial products linked to music streaming data.[1][2] Background[edit]Umeh's career moved from roles in television, music media and content production into entrepreneurship, culminating in the founding of Clouty in 2019, a firm that seeks to treat music streaming data as a tradable financial benchmark.[3][4] Early Career[edit]Umeh worked as an account manager for Primewest Management Ltd. beginning in 2010 while studying economics at Hampton University.[5] In 2011, he became a production assistant for BET Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom Inc.[6] He served as an assistant editor for Revolt Media & TV in 2013, and in 2014 held roles as a visual media curator for Karmaloop.com and a video editorial intern for HipHop DX (Cheri Media).[7] HighSpeed Technologies[edit]Umeh founded HighSpeed Technologies, Inc. in October 2014, operating the company across Washington, D.C., Boston and New York City until November 2020.[8] Crunchbase lists him as founder and chief executive of HighSpeed, though the sources reviewed do not specify the company's industry or products.[9] Clouty[edit]Umeh founded Clouty in November 2019 in Chicago and described the company's mission as transforming music data into financial instruments.[10] Clouty is described as a music derivatives market that offers a suite of indexes intended to help fans, artists and institutional investors identify opportunities in music consumption data.[11] The company received a seed funding round of $550,000 announced October 1, 2021, with investors including Muditā Venture Partners, Next Play Ventures and Steven Sarowitz.[12] Under Umeh's leadership, Clouty launched the MUSIQ™ index family, including the MUSIQ 500 index, which went live on the Bloomberg Terminal under ticker MUSQ500 in January 2023 as the first benchmarked financial index for streaming of songs.[13] The MUSIQ 500 index aggregates the 500 most-streamed songs worldwide, and Clouty has held discussions with U.S. exchanges about launching futures contracts linked to individual songs, artists and genres.[14] Umeh has been quoted, via the Financial Times, describing music as "an asset class that hides in plain sight and has not been exploited."[15] Clouty Tune ETF[edit]Clouty developed the Solactive Clouty Tune Index in 2023, administered by Solactive AG, which underpinned the Clouty Tune ETF (ticker TUNE), issued under Tidal Trust II.[16] The ETF, a passively managed global equities fund with a 0.65% expense ratio, launched on June 21, 2023, and offered exposure to companies engaged in music production, broadcasting, streaming, content creation and related sectors, including Adobe Inc., The New York Times Company, Take-Two Interactive Software, Nintendo Co., Ltd. and Naspers Limited.[17] Umeh discussed the fund and its holdings, including Adobe, Netflix and MongoDB, in a broadcast appearance promoting the ETF's launch.[18] The board of trustees of Tidal ETF Trust approved the liquidation and closure of the Clouty Tune ETF on November 2, 2023, following a recommendation from adviser Tidal Investments LLC citing limited investor interest since launch.[19] Trading ceased on NYSE Arca on November 16, 2023, with final shareholder distributions occurring around November 23, 2023.[20] SEC filings for Tidal Trust II continued to list Clouty Tune ETF as a fund series as of July 2024.[21] Umeh has spoken to university audiences about career opportunities at Clouty, including a virtual presentation to students at the Illinois Institute of Technology describing Clouty as a music derivatives exchange with a family of indexes intended to help fans, artists and investors identify global opportunities.[22] Education[edit]Umeh studied economics at Hampton University from 2008 to 2012.[23][24] References[edit]
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[Category:Executives]]