Virtual reality music startup MelodyVR has raised £15m ($20m) through its UK-based parent EVR Holdings.
The majority of the money has been generated by EVR placing a chunk of new shares on the London AIM stock exchange worth £10m ($13m).
The remainder £5m ($7m) has been added by the sale of stock to MelodyVR’s co-founders, Anthony Matchett and Steven Hancock.
The company’s app hasn’t yet launched out of beta, but crucially MelodyVR has inked licensing deals with Warner Music, Sony Music and Universal Music, in addition to a worldwide deal announced with Roc Nation earlier this month.
The firm told its shareholder today that the capital raise would “enable MelodyVR to make further investments in its original content library as well as to extend the capacity of its live music capture and digital content creation capabilities both in the UK and overseas, expanding upon existing resources and infrastructure, increasing global marketing efforts as well as research and development in areas such as post production and camera technology”.
Specifically, the firm mentioned plans to “expand US-centric operations and to further develop our capabilities and infrastructure within the country”, in addition to plotting software launches in Latin America, Asia, Australasia more quickly than it could previously.
Anthony Matchett, CEO of EVR, said: “I am delighted to announce the completion of a successful and sizeable fundraise of £10 million, highlighting the significant progress that EVR has made over the past year.
“As we continue to deliver on our goal of building a truly global music and entertainment business, we look towards the United States as a fertile environment for our growth that we believe will become a key factor in the long-term success of our company.”
Anthony Matchett, EVR
“Throughout 2017, EVR and its subsidiary MelodyVR have continued to deliver upon operational targets and milestones, securing numerous partnerships with key market leaders operating throughout the music and technology industries, including Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Roc Nation and Microsoft Corporation amongst others, adding to the existing deals already in place with Warner Music Group and other music rights holders.
“As our company continues to expand, the Board firmly believes that the United States is a market of significant strategic importance and as part of this fundraise, I’m very pleased to welcome a number of the United States’ most respected funds and institutions to our shareholder register.
“Having secured key institutional support from investors throughout the United States, MelodyVR will continue to expand US-centric operations and to further develop our capabilities and infrastructure within the country.
“As we continue to deliver on our goal of building a truly global music and entertainment business, we look towards the United States as a fertile environment for our growth that we believe will become a key factor in the long-term success of our company. I would also like to thank our investors within the United Kingdom for their on-going support and I’m pleased to welcome participation from both new and existing funds and institutions.”
He added: “The capital raised as part of this placing will be used to further accelerate our expansion and will enable MelodyVR to enter new foreign markets including territories throughout Asia, Australasia and Latin America more quickly, further extending our market-leading position and generating additional opportunities for content creation and revenue generation worldwide.”Music Business Worldwide
