Elton John and David Furnish have participated in a $5m funding round for music tech company Audoo, which aims to improve public performance royalty payments.

Its latest funding round brings its total investment raised to date to $22m. John and Furnish join previous investors such as ABBA’s Bjorn Ulvaeus, MPL Ventures, Tileyard and Edinv.

“Working as a musician can be seen as all glitz and glamour but for the vast majority of artists, especially new and emerging acts, this isn't the case,” John said. “It's often brutally unfair and this sadly extends into being paid correctly. Right now, artists are not being paid accurately for their plays because the data simply doesn't exist.

"People have given up on their dreams and we've lost talent and future stars because of this disparity. That's why we've invested in Audoo and their world-class technology and data, to help create a more transparent system for everyone, and ultimately to keep the music alive.”

Via its Audio Meter, which has been installed in businesses around the world, Audoo identifies music that’s being played and reports usage back to PRO and CMO partners.

This round of investment follows key hires at Audoo, including music publishing exec Nigel Elderton as chairman and Melanie Johnson as chief commercial officer.