Nearly $1.3 billion has been plowed into music-focused companies so far this year, according to details tracked and compiled by DMN Pro’s Music Industry Funding Tracker. But that’s tame compared to explosive Q1 2023 totals.
Investors are still making heady bets on promising music startups, companies, and funds, but the ebullience of last year is cooling down.
For the first three months of 2024, total music industry funding levels topped $1.266 billion, according to rounds tracked by DMN Pro’s Music Industry Funding Tracker. That compares to a whopping total of $4.195 billion for the comparable Q1 of 2023, a period that also witnessed significantly larger deal flow.
The Music Industry Funding Tracker is DMN Pro’s subscriber-only database that tracks rounds big and small, complete with details about specific rounds (pre-seed to late-stage), investors (both lead and supporting), and dollar commitments involved. The database covers hundreds of investments over multiple years and offers a valuable resource for anyone placing or receiving growth bets in the music industry.
Despite the difference in funding totals, 2024 has its share of heady investments. Topping the list is Irving Azoff’s Iconic Artists Group (IAG), which revealed an impressive $1 billion investment tranche led by New York’s HPS Investment Partners in mid-February. That was coupled with the news of IAG’s acquisition of the Rod Stewart catalog, with similarly gigantic IP acquisitions potentially ahead.
But 2023 had its own monster rounds — and more of them. Dropping the biggest jaws was gamma., which bagged its own $1 billion investment round in March of last year. Incidentally, that was followed by a $100 million round in February of this year, powered by Alpha Wave Global.
Other weighty rounds in 2023 included Kakao Entertainment, which pulled down a $966 million round, and Spirit Music Group owner Lyric Capital, which secured $410 million in funding commitments in February of last year, part of a broader $800 million IP acquisition fund raise.
Other 9-figure rounds were commonplace in early 2023, part of a potential spike year in investment activity for the music industry.
Case in point: total 2023 music industry funding topped $10 billion, according to DMN Pro’s tallies. That was more than double 2022’s $4.8+ billion in overall funding. Putting things into context, 2024 may simply represent a ‘return to normalcy’ rather than a year-over-year plunge.
(For those looking to explore last year’s heady investment environment, check out DMN Pro’s recent research report on this explosive year.)
As for March of this year, investment rounds focused on production and creative collaboration tools. The rounds were substantial for the companies involved, but the month was subdued overall — especially when compared to the same month last year.
Rounds secured included WavMaker ($5 million seed round), BeatConnect ($1.86 million seed round), and Hook ($3.5 million seed round). Investors powering those rounds included some noted investors, ranging from individuals like Vicky Patel to investment firms such as Sfermion and Point72 Ventures and ventures like FICC, Anges Québec, and Triptyq Capital.
By comparison, in March 2023, funding volumes topped a substantial $1.446 billion. In fairness, March 2023 included the 10-figure, $1 billion gamma round and two additional rounds topping $150 million (Character.ai) and $200 million (Torch Capital).
