According to a press release, this investment will see Warner Music partner with Sua Música and “combin[e] their efforts to develop regional artists and songwriters”.
The value of the investment has not been disclosed, but MBW understands that Warner Music has acquired a minority stake in the company.
In 2021, Sua Música was reported to be raising R$50 million (approx USD $9m) at a R$200 million ($36m) valuation in order to scale the company.
With a sole focus on local content and independent artists, Brazil-based Sua Música counts 16,000 verified artists and around 9 million monthly active users on its UGC music platform.
It competes with the likes of Spotify in the market and has previously been referred to as “the Brazilian SoundCloud’ due to the similarities between the two companies’ business models.
Sua Música also runs a services business, which operates across digital distribution, artist management and publishing.
As a DIY distributor, the company already works with and handles royalty management for more than 1,000 independent artists across Brazil, including Tarcísio do Acordeon, Vitor Fernandes, Thiago Aquino, Heitor Costa, Japãozin, Evoney Fernandes.
Warner said that the partnership will allow Sua Música Group to focus on expanding its operations across Brazil, starting with “developing a leadership role for its music platform in the Northeast and promoting [distribution service] Sua Música Digital”.
According to Sua Música CEO Roni Maltz Bin, the company’s “goal is to strengthen the Sua Música Group as a complete solutions hub for artists, intensifying our concept of a one-stop-shop for music: distributor, publisher, app, and much more”.
Warner said in a press release on Wednesday (July 17) that Sua Música “will be a significant partner” for its strategy of “expanding presence in all regions of the Brazilian market, boosting its authority in regional music, local partnerships, and sharing expertise in discovering new voices to create the catalogs of the future”.
Warner confirmed in March that it was considering making a bid for Paris-headquartered digital music company Believe, but on April 6, it announced that it had decided not to pursue an acquisition bid for the company.
On WMG’s earnings call in May, the company’s leadership team said it would continue to pursue further M&A opportunities.
“It’s our job to survey the market. And if there [are] opportunities that will accelerate our initiatives, we’ll take those,” said WMG’s CFO, Bryan Castellani.
Warner’s investment in independent artist-focused Sua Música follows yesterday’s (July 16) news from market monitor Luminate that the global ‘middle class’ of artists is growing larger.
According to Luminate’s Midyear report, in H1 2024, there were 29,253 artists who clocked between 1 million and 10 million on-demand audio streams, an increase of 5.1% from the same period a year earlier.
“The combination of Sua Música’s significant presence in regional music with our national reach and global network will amplify the efforts of both companies and offer artists new creative and commercial possibilities and opportunities.”
Leila Oliveira, President, Warner Music Brazil
Leila Oliveira, President of Warner Music Brazil, said: “This is a very important milestone for us as cultural enablers.
“The combination of Sua Música’s significant presence in regional music with our national reach and global network will amplify the efforts of both companies and offer artists new creative and commercial possibilities and opportunities.”
“This partnership consolidates our presence in Brazil’s Northeast and opens space for the growth of regional genres worldwide.”
João Alquéres, ADA Brazil
João Alquéres, General Director, ADA Brazil, added: “This partnership consolidates our presence in Brazil’s Northeast and opens space for the growth of regional genres worldwide.
“As we have reinforced with our partners, Warner Music can offer a variety of solutions for artists and songwriters at different stages of their careers.
“Working together with Sua Música demonstrates our ability to operate in various musical genres and different regions of Brazil.”
“Our Goal is to strengthen the Sua Música Group as a complete solutions hub for artists, intensifying our concept of a one-stop-shop for music: distributor, publisher, app, and much more.”
Roni Maltz Bin, Sua Música
Roni Maltz Bin, CEO, Sua Música, added: “The announcement of the investment comes to crown and corroborate an excellent moment for the Sua Música Group in the Brazilian market.
“We are very proud of this important move. Since the company’s creation, we have always grown with our own capital, and this investment will undoubtedly be very relevant to further accelerate all our business fronts. Warner Music recognized the full potential of our strategy, and we will certainly join forces to grow more rapidly in the national market.”
He added: “Our main mission is to develop, amplify, and connect the music universe. Our goal is to strengthen the Sua Música Group as a complete solutions hub for artists, intensifying our concept of a one-stop-shop for music: distributor, publisher, app, and much more. And it doesn’t stop there! We are also accelerating our music production front with studios across Brazil.
“We already have Sua Música Space in Fortaleza, which is the largest content production hub in the Northeast; another studio in Campina Grande; and we will soon open a third in São Paulo. We are also evaluating more cities to expand our presence in Brazil and Latin America this year.”Music Business Worldwide
