ARMADA MUSIC LAUNCHES FIRST-EVER DANCE MUSIC INVESTMENT COMPANY: BEAT MUSIC FUND
FIRST ACQUISITIONS INCLUDE KEVIN SAUNDERSON’S KMS RECORDS AND ARTY CATALOGS
April 20, 2023 – Armada Music, the biggest independent dance music label in the world, has launched BEAT (Best Ever Acquired Tracks), the first-ever dance music investment company. Backed by U.S.-based financial services firm, Pinnacle Financial Partners, BEAT intends to invest $100 million in its first two years, with the mission of acquiring and exploiting recording and music publishing catalogs in what is estimated to be a $9 billion global market. The company’s first acquisitions include KMS Records’ master recordings catalog from house and techno legend Kevin Saunderson, and the acquisition of the master and publishing catalog of ARTY. Both catalogs of masters will be globally distributed by Armada Music (Armada Distribution B.V.). BEAT plans to grow its investment to at least $500 million in coming years.
Maykel Piron, the CEO of Armada Music, created BEAT as an artist-friendly vehicle to unlock value from recordings and copyrights within the dance arena after being pursued by numerous investors as part of the rapidly growing appetite for music catalogs. In addition to successfully releasing dance music for twenty years, the award-winning label already had a history of acquiring and exploiting catalogs from artists, specific songs (masters and publishing) and legendary dance labels such as Midtown Records, United Recordings and Combined Forces.
The desire to acquire, exploit and breathe new life into classic dance hits also stems from a more romantic vantage point. “It’s a privilege to be working with the tracks that sparked my passion for dance music at an early age,” says Piron. “That passion is still there, and it’s incredibly rewarding to bolster the legacy of major dance hits such as Joe Smooth’s ‘Promised Land’, of which we already acquired the exploitation rights years ago. It adds a new dimension to the work we’re doing with Armada Music, and we’re super excited to bring in more incredible labels, artists and songs to boost and complement our current catalog of 40.000 tracks.
The initial cornerstones of the BEAT portfolio, Kevin Saunderson’s KMS Records and ARTY’s catalogs, embody its investment in philosophy moving forward. Saunderson is considered to be one of the founding fathers of techno music and KMS has been a staple label in the techno scene for over thirty years. Its catalog includes iconic tracks from Saunderson as well as from Inner City, the Saunderson-led group known for globally acclaimed hits such as ‘Good Life’ and ‘Big Fun’. Both tracks topped the U.S. Dance chart and hit the Top 10 in the UK Singles chart.
ARTY has been one of dance music’s foremost artists for years. In between continued success on U.S. Dance radio with ‘Sunrise’ (2018), ‘Save Me Tonight’ (2019), ‘Craving’ (with Audien and Ellee Duke, 2020) and ‘Take Your Time’ (2021), the L.A.-based DJ and producer has remixed tracks from superstar artists such as Skrillex, Axwell /\ Ingrosso, Armin van Buuren, Halsey, Surf Mesa, OneRepublic, London Grammar, Above & Beyond, Porter Robinson and Years & Years, and tends to a huge, trance-minded following under his ALPHA 9 moniker.
Pinnacle Financial Partners holds $42 billion in assets as of Dec. 31, 2022, and operates in twenty primarily urban markets across the Southeast, in addition to operating nationally and internationally in key specialties like music, entertainment and sports. “Pinnacle is honored to begin our relationship with Armada Music in support of their latest venture,” says Brett Ross, Senior Vice President of music, sports and entertainment for Pinnacle Financial Partners. “To be able to partner with Armada Music during their twentieth anniversary is a testament to their leadership, passion and continued support of dance music. These principles, plus the opportunities presented by BEAT, resonated perfectly with Pinnacle and our goal of supporting creative communities across the globe.”
Artisan, a premier investment bank that provides advisory services to select clients in the music sector, acted as an advisor to Armada Music on the financing of BEAT and will continue to work with them going forward. “Armada Music is truly a leader in dance music, and we’re thrilled to work with them as they continue to build upon their incredible platform,” says Brian Richards, Founder and Managing Partner of Artisan.
About BEAT Music Fund
BEAT Music Fund is the world’s first dance music investment company. BEAT stands for Best Ever Acquired Tracks, which seamlessly connects with the company’s mission to acquire and exploit the very best of recording and music publishing catalogs from a range of dance-related genres. Its portfolio includes the master recordings catalog of KMS Records, founded by house and techno legend Kevin Saunderson, as well as ARTY. BEAT’s financial partner is Pinnacle Financial Partners, whose global holdings include music, sports and entertainment ventures.
About Armada Music
Armada Music is the biggest independent dance music label in the world, founded in 2003 by Armin van Buuren, Maykel Piron and David Lewis (AR-MA-DA). A six-time winner of the IDMA for ‘Best Global Label’, Armada Music boasts the globe’s biggest dance music catalog of over 40.000 tracks and a mouth-watering artist roster.
Promoting dance music all over the world from its offices in Amsterdam (HQ), New York and London, Armada Music represents and cultivates the creative exploits of some of the biggest players in the electronic music game, including Armin van Buuren, ARTY, Audien, Brando, Cat Dealers, D.O.D., Ferry Corsten, Jan Blomqvist, Loud Luxury, and Tensnake. Through this star-studded dance music army, Armada Music collects over 1 billion streams per month, secures weekly airplay on the biggest nation-wide broadcasting stations (such as BBC Radio 1 and Sirius XM), and frequents the top spots of the U.S. Mediabase Dance Airplay charts. Continually bringing out the best in its artists has led to various high-magnitude achievements, including Armin van Buuren’s Grammy nomination for ‘This Is What It Feels Like’, Lost Frequencies’ Diamond Award for exceeding the mark of one billion streams on Spotify and the huge success of Loud Luxury and Brando in the U.S. and beyond. For more information, visit us at www.armadamusic.com, @armadamusic on Instagram and @armada on Twitter.
About Pinnacle Financial Partners
Pinnacle Financial Partners is a full service financial services firm based in Nashville, TN with $42.0 billion in assets as of December 31, 2022. They are listed by Forbes as No. 27 among America’s Best Banks and for seven consecutive years have been named one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For® in the U.S. Additional information concerning Pinnacle, which is included in the Nasdaq Financial-100 Index, can be accessed at www.pnfp.com.