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MBW is getting used to writing about billion greenback (and/or multi-billion greenback) music firms from Europe. Yesterday, it was France’s Imagine; as we speak, it’s Sweden’s Epidemic Sound.
Epidemic Sound, after all, hasn’t all the time been the preferred entity amongst sure factions of the music business. Nevertheless it’s producing vital sums of cash – and new monetary outcomes revealed by the corporate in Sweden as we speak (June 2) have allowed us to take a contemporary view on the well being of its funds.
In line with Epidemic’s new annual fiscal report, its revenues grew by 49% YoY in 2020 to SEK 575 million (approx. $69.5m).
Those self same outcomes additionally reveal that Epidemic Sound’s internet losses amounted to SEK 147 million final yr ($17.8m) – a narrowing on its internet lack of SEK 186m ($22.5m) in 2019.
The agency’s working EBITDA got here in at a lack of 47.6m SEK ($5.7m) in 2020, roughly a 3rd of the dimensions of the equal loss it posted in 2019 (140.9m SEK).
Epidemic Sound’s newest outcomes come simply two months after it accomplished a $450m funding spherical that included cash from funding big Blackstone.
The funding noticed Blackstone Progress (BXG) workforce up with EQT Progress within the spherical, giving Epidemic a $1.4bn valuation.
Epidemic Sound’s present buyers previous to that spherical included Creandum and EQT Mid-Market, in addition to Atwater Capital.
Elsewhere in Epidemic Sound’s monetary outcomes, the corporate stories that its ‘Different Exterior Prices’ elevated by 15% to SEK 319m ($38.6m), up from SEK 276m (approx. $33.4m) in 2019.
This improve, it says, got here on account of its “long-term development technique”.
Epidemic additionally stories that its ‘Personnel Prices’ elevated to SEK 318m ($38.5m) in 2020, up from SEK 263m ($31.8m) in 2019, which it claims is “partly a consequence of the restructuring the corporate was pressured to make in reference to the onset of the pandemic”.
In Could final yr, Epidemic Sound laid off practically a fifth (19%) of its 419-strong world workforce, with co-founder and CEO, Oscar Höglund telling Music Ally on the time that the redundancies had been being made as a part of a “realignment” of Epidemic Sound’s enterprise mannequin.
The agency’s elevated staffing prices in 2020 additionally observe what Epidemic now says was the “profitable recruitment of the vast majority of key folks in senior positions”.
Epidemic says that it counted 336 full-time workers on the finish of 2020.
“2020 was probably the most transformative yr within the historical past of Epidemic Sound.”
Oscar Höglund, Epidemic Sound
Oscar Höglund, Epidemic Sound co-founder and CEO, stated in a press release: “2020 was probably the most transformative yr within the historical past of Epidemic Sound.
“We accelerated to a totally digital enterprise mannequin and made a number of key recruitments. Moreover, we expanded our world class music catalog with 1000’s of latest superb tracks.”
Added Höglund: “I’m pleased with our workforce for adapting so effectively and for contributing to creating 2020 such a profitable yr.
“It’s clear that the demand for restriction-free music simply retains on rising and I couldn’t be extra optimistic in regards to the future.”
In June final yr, Epidemic Sound introduced a deal to produce copyright-free music to the media library of Adobe, finest recognized for its artistic software program and inventory pictures.
Final yr additionally noticed Epidemic’s music heard over 1.5 billion instances a day on YouTube. It additionally signed music licensing partnerships with tech firms equivalent to Canva, Getty and Lightricks.
Epidemic Sound expanded into the US market late 2019, appointing Kate Vale as its Managing Director in North America. Vale is the previous MD of Spotify in Australia and New Zealand (ANZ).
Epidemic’s enterprise mannequin has two tiers: (i) licensing its library of rights-cleared manufacturing music to broadcasters, airways and inns; and (ii) producing royalties from this music on streaming companies equivalent to Spotify and YouTube, in addition to licensing it to platforms like Netflix and Twitch.
Epidemic totally acquires the rights to its composers’ music (each masters and publishing) through one-off upfront funds, however commits to paying by way of 50% of streaming income to the composers whose music it’s purchased.
- All SEK-USD foreign money exchanges within the above story had been made at present change charges
Music Enterprise Worldwide
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