Beats Music Acquires Topspin Media
(UPDATED) Beats Music has acquired direct to fan platform Topspin Media, the music streamer announced this morning. CEO Ian Rogers, who left the top spot at Topspin last year to launch Beats, said the acquisition will help "unite the world of music listeners and music creators." The deal is the most significant yet early in what is likely to be a year of consolidation within the artists services sector.
Topspin had received undisclosed Series A venture funding from Redpoint in 2007 and Series B funding from Foundry in 2008. No details of today's acquisition by Beats were announced.
"The acquisition brings a team of talented people who have spent years working on building and fine-tuning the artist-to-fan connection into the Beats Music experience, said Rogers in a Beats blog post. "We’re committed to establishing Beats Music as a conduit for the artist-fan relationship, a platform where artists have a voice, and a provider of useful data and analytics on how fans interact with artists and their music. This acquisition puts our money where our mouth is."
"In January Beats Music launched with the start of its own Artist Tools features including Topspin integration," said Rogers. "Over the next several months you’ll see our platform reveal many exciting new features, providing new ways to discover music and engage with your friends and the artists that create it."
MORE: Will Spotify Continue Topspin Deal Now That It's Owned By Competitor Beats?
Did Rogers still have equity in TopSpin at the time of this acquisition?
A bold and interesting move forward in the inevitable consolidation and vertical integration of streaming music. I wonder if any other streaming services are considering acquiring music crowdfunding sites like Pledgemusic, distributors like CD Baby, or performance sites like StageIt or ConcertWindow.
I agree there will be more consolidation. And while I’m not sure I see synergies with CD Baby, I certainly can see online concerts as a related value-added service.
I agree about the consolidations and wonder when some of this will start to have an impact on the biz side of music.