Music licensing and distribution platform Songtradr has acquired UK-based sync licensing company Cuesongs.
Songtradr announced the high-profile buyout today, in a formal release that was shared with Digital Music News. Cuesongs, which represents more than 150 indie labels and publishers, marks Songtradr’s first outright acquisition since raising $30 million in a Series C funding round earlier this year.
But in the interim, the six-year-old platform invested $1 million in and inked a five-year exclusive deal with Jaxsta, a tech-focused music-information company. Also worth reiterating is that Songtradr acquired the world’s largest sync agency, London-headquartered Big Sync Music, last year. Big Sync, for its part, has embarked on a global expansion in 2020, tapping into the highly lucrative markets of Australia, New Zealand, Germany, and France.
The financial terms of the Cuesongs purchase weren’t disclosed in the release. Of note, however, is that former Genesis lead singer Peter Gabriel cofounded the company in 2010, and the entity entered administration six years thereafter. Presently, Cuesong’s sync catalog encompasses about 20,000 tracks, from artists including Knucks and Flux Pavilion.
Addressing the investment in a statement, Songtradr CEO Paul Wiltshire said: “Cuesongs is a premium music agency. The caliber of talent they work with and the quality of the tracks they license makes them a natural fit for integrating into our ecosystem.
“Their team is passionate and hardworking, which has led them to foster strong personal relationships with labels and publishers in the UK and beyond,” continued the former Matrix team member Wiltshire. “We look forward to building on those relationships further and working closely with the Cuesongs team.”
Cuesongs Creative Director Justin McMullen, who’s held the position for nearly nine years, said: “Songtradr’s artist-first approach completely aligns with our vision at Cuesongs. They have rapidly become the leading music licensing marketplace and we’re delighted to be joining forces as we continue to foster strong relationships between our artists and buyers.”
Given today’s jam-packed visual-media landscape – including an ever-increasing number of adverts, television shows, films, and video games – sync licensing appears poised to enjoy continued growth in the coming months and years. We’ve published a multitude of resources and guides for musicians who’re looking to secure potentially career-changing placements.
In other music-industry acquisition news, Spotify dropped $235 million on podcast platform Megaphone about one week ago, as part of its long-running effort to develop a stable of non-music audio content. Additionally, Shutterfly acquired “certain assets” of AI music platform Amer Music five days back.
