Participated · Equity · Jul 2019

Epidemic Sound operates a marketplace where musicians upload tracks and creators/licensors search and license music by genre, mood, tempo and other filters. The platform hosts roughly 32,000 music tracks and 60,000 sound effects and uses data to build a "music graph" that helps match music to media and commission new tracks. It offers subscription plans (personal $15/month, commercial $49/month) and per-use pricing, and the company controls 100% of the rights in its library. Epidemic partners with platforms such as Adobe, Canva, Getty and Lightricks to distribute its catalogue and embed music into creator workflows. Operating metrics cited include more than 1 billion hours of Epidemic tracks played per month on YouTube and about 1.5 billion YouTube plays daily; over 5 million people use the platform. The company had tipped into profitability previously but is currently back in the red while prioritizing growth and international expansion. Epidemic Sound provides a curated search-and-licensing platform that lets video producers find, listen to, and download soundtrack music filtered by genre, mood, energy and BPM. The company intentionally curates its catalog (artists number in the thousands) rather than operating an open marketplace. Musicians receive an upfront payment for tracks Epidemic buys and then split streaming revenues 50/50 with the company when songs appear on platforms like Spotify and Apple. Epidemic says it has millions of creators using the service, its music is played about 250 million hours per month on YouTube, and revenues have been growing 100% year-over-year. The startup faces competition from other soundtrack providers and large platforms, but emphasizes being platform-agnostic and curated. Management plans to use new funding to expand into Asia, specifically by setting up operations in South Korea. Epidemic Sound operates a recurring-subscription music-licensing platform supplying music to Hollywood studios, traditional video production companies, and a large proportion of online videos. The company reports a global customer base and a healthy seven-figure revenue. It employs 80 people across offices in Stockholm, Amsterdam, Madrid, Hamburg, and New York. The business has grown rapidly over the past two years and currently powers a large proportion of the mobile and online media industry. The recent strategic investment is intended to inform and support the company's growth. The deal values the company at $45 million. Epidemic Sound builds and licenses a library of production music that it wholly owns, enabling simplified, non‑exclusive licensing for broadcasters and online video producers. The company purchases tracks outright (paying composers an average of $500 per track) and offers stems so customers can edit files further. Its catalogue exceeds 30,000 tracks created by more than 200 composers selected from roughly 5,000 applicants. Customers include thousands of broadcasters and MCNs across Northern Europe and partnerships with U.S. and German MCNs; broadcasters pay monthly subscriptions ranging from thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars for unlimited use. Individual creators can license music via the Epidemic Sound Track Shop at $1.50 per second. The company plans to use new funding to commission more music and to staff recently opened operations in Holland, Germany, the U.K. and the U.S.

Participated · Series B · Feb 2018

Adaptive Studios develops premium film and television content with a story-first approach for both traditional and digital distribution. The company acquires undervalued intellectual property from the Hollywood system and incubates new ideas from a community of emerging filmmakers. It partners with high-profile collaborators and distributors including AMC Networks, HBO, Netflix, Verizon, Miramax, FX Networks, YouTube Red, Fox Animation, 21 Laps, Lionsgate and blackpills. Adaptive Studios was founded by Perrin Chiles, TJ Barrack and Marc Joubert and is based in Culver City, California. The company intends to use recent financing to continue development of content for distribution across traditional and digital platforms. No operating metrics were disclosed in the article.