Practically $1.3 billion has been plowed into music-focused firms up to now this yr, in response to particulars tracked and compiled by DMN Professional’s Music Trade Funding Tracker. However that’s tame in comparison with explosive Q1 2023 totals.
Traders are nonetheless making heady bets on promising music startups, firms, and funds, however the ebullience of final yr is cooling down.
For the primary three months of 2024, whole music trade funding ranges topped $1.266 billion, in response to rounds tracked by DMN Professional’s Music Trade Funding Tracker. That compares to a whopping whole of $4.195 billion for the comparable Q1 of 2023, a interval that additionally witnessed considerably bigger deal circulate.
The Music Trade Funding Tracker is DMN Professional’s subscriber-only database that tracks rounds huge and small, full with particulars about particular rounds (pre-seed to late-stage), traders (each lead and supporting), and greenback commitments concerned. The database covers a whole bunch of investments over a number of years and provides a invaluable useful resource for anybody putting or receiving progress bets within the music trade.
Regardless of the distinction in funding totals, 2024 has its share of heady investments. Topping the checklist is Irving Azoff’s Iconic Artists Group (IAG), which revealed a powerful $1 billion funding tranche led by New York’s HPS Funding Companions in mid-February. That was coupled with the information of IAG’s acquisition of the Rod Stewart catalog, with equally gigantic IP acquisitions doubtlessly forward.
However 2023 had its personal monster rounds — and extra of them. Dropping the most important jaws was gamma., which bagged its personal $1 billion funding spherical in March of final yr. By the way, that was adopted by a $100 million spherical in February of this yr, powered by Alpha Wave World.
Different weighty rounds in 2023 included Kakao Leisure, which pulled down a $966 million spherical, and Spirit Music Group proprietor Lyric Capital, which secured $410 million in funding commitments in February of final yr, a part of a broader $800 million IP acquisition fund elevate.
Different 9-figure rounds have been commonplace in early 2023, a part of a possible spike yr in funding exercise for the music trade.
Living proof: whole 2023 music trade funding topped $10 billion, in response to DMN Professional’s tallies. That was greater than double 2022’s $4.8+ billion in total funding. Placing issues into context, 2024 could merely symbolize a ‘return to normalcy’ quite than a year-over-year plunge.
(For these seeking to discover final yr’s heady funding setting, take a look at DMN Professional’s current analysis report on this explosive yr.)
As for March of this yr, funding rounds centered on manufacturing and artistic collaboration instruments. The rounds have been substantial for the businesses concerned, however the month was subdued total — particularly when in comparison with the identical month final yr.
Rounds secured included WavMaker ($5 million seed spherical), BeatConnect ($1.86 million seed spherical), and Hook ($3.5 million seed spherical). Traders powering these rounds included some famous traders, starting from people like Vicky Patel to funding companies corresponding to Sfermion and Point72 Ventures and ventures like FICC, Anges Québec, and Triptyq Capital.
By comparability, in March 2023, funding volumes topped a considerable $1.446 billion. In equity, March 2023 included the 10-figure, $1 billion gamma spherical and two further rounds topping $150 million (Character.ai) and $200 million (Torch Capital).
