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Business-to-business (B2B) music licensing marketplace Songtradr is continuing to bolster its tech capabilities after acquiring Musicube – an AI metadata and music search company from Germany with access to more than 50 million song titles - for an undisclosed amount today.
The purchase comes more than a year after the Australian-owned, Los Angeles-based company went on a shopping spree and bought online music database Tunefind, music streaming service Pretzel, global music agency Big Sync Music, sync licencing company Cuesongs and sound design studio Song Zu.
The company, which has more than 350 people across 12 offices worldwide, reached a valuation of more than USD$300 million (AUD$397 million) after securing $66 million in a Series D funding round in June 2021.
The oversubscribed raise included backing from WiseTech Global founder (ASX: WTC) Richard White and institutional investors Regal, Aware Super, Perennial, Argo and Greencape.
Songtradr CEO Paul Wiltshire says Musicube has approached audio analysis from an entirely unique perspective and that the acquisition will accelerate the company’s mission to increase the value and effectiveness of music in content.
"Their impressive team of passionate musicologists and data scientists understand the power of data and its relationship with music, which ultimately benefits our brand and agency customers as well as music rights holders,” he added.
“In order to have the world's best B2B music search and recommendation technology, we need premier metadata enrichment technology, which is a key component of the B2B music supply chain.”
Founded in 2019 by David Hoga and Agnes Chung, Musicube is an AI solution that allows customers to search for tracks, playlists and artists based on audiences, moods, genres, vocal features, instruments and tempo.
The proprietary software is delivered via web widgets and an application programming interface (API) which allows “metadata at scale” for music labels and publishers.
The database includes the International Standard Recording Code (ISRC) for more than 50 million song titles and provides more than 500 keywords to help customers find the perfect track for their needs.
The acquisition comes after Songtradr struck a deal with iconic 90s label Cleopatra Records to access more than 800,000 songs from a lineup of artists such as Jimmy Page, Bob Marley and Joy Division.
“We are incredibly happy to join this exceptional team of music lovers and technologists as every single conversation we have had can be characterised by both cordiality and an ambitious agenda,” Hoga said.
“We share a common vision of an artist-friendly music industry, using data to achieve it."
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