Dowtown Music Holdings has entered into an agreement to acquire advertising and digital marketing platform Found.ee.
Found.ee provides artists, managers and labels with a range of tools to build, target and optimise promotional campaigns. With this transaction, Downtown will acquire the intellectual property and technology that underpins the platform.
“Artists across the spectrum are increasingly opting for independence and taking a more active role in all aspects of their careers, especially when it comes to marketing and promotion,” said Downtown CEO Justin Kalifowitz.
“The technology, tools, and access Found.ee offers creators and their teams is yet another example of how the music industry continues to evolve. Our acquisition of Found.ee, its technology, and unique expertise in both the digital advertising and music industry ecosystems, is an ideal complement to Downtown’s existing portfolio of artist and label services.”
Used by more than 25,000 artists and labels from around the world, the Found.ee platform was developed to provide ad tech tools that deliver more effective digital advertising campaigns across online, mobile, social and audio channels. Found.ee enables users to develop custom interactive ads, related promotional tools and analytics that can improve the effectiveness of digital campaigns while empowering creators to more directly identify and engage with fans.
Downtown subsidiary CD Baby, which is a minority investor in Found.ee, already uses the platform to power its existing promotional and marketing capabilities available to CD Baby artists.
"We're so excited to join Downtown,” said Jason Hobbs, CEO of Found.ee. “Since day one, Found.ee has helped musicians leverage data, insights and advanced marketing tools to shape their own destiny. I truly can't imagine a better home for Found.ee, and I’m excited to continue delivering more tools that help creators of all kinds chart their own path.”
Hobbs will join Downtown following the transaction closing, which is expected to be completed by the end of Q1 2021.
Last year, Downtown made several key acquisitions, including the global music distribution and analytics firm Fuga, the France-based audio fingerprinting technology company Simbals, and Africa’s largest independent music publisher Sheer Publishing Africa.
Additionally, Downtown acquired the catalogue of independent music publisher Good Soldier Songs, including an ongoing deal (that has since been renewed) with The 1975.
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