Warner Music Group has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Revelator, described by WMG as “the innovative B2B music platform that serves the independent business worldwide”.
The transaction is subject to customary conditions and is expected to close next quarter.
WMG said that the deal marks the latest move in its distribution and label services expansion.
Formed in 2012, indie music platform Revelator specializes in digital music distribution, rights management, royalty accounting, and real-time analytics.
“The combination of Revelator’s leading-edge technology and array of premier services with our global infrastructure will turbocharge our joint mission to support more labels and artists around the world.”
Robert Kyncl, WMG
According to a press release on Wednesday (April 1), Revelator’s “integration with WMG post-closing will transform the suite of services that WMG labels and ADA offer to artists and the independent community, while scaling WMG’s reach”.
WMG CEO Robert Kyncl said: “The combination of Revelator’s leading-edge technology and array of premier services with our global infrastructure will turbocharge our joint mission to support more labels and artists around the world.
“I’m very pleased to welcome the Revelator team to the WMG family.”
“We’re very happy to partner with WMG to superserve artists, labels, and distributors around the world.”
Bruno Guez, Revelator
Revelator Founder & CEO Bruno Guez added: “Since launching Revelator in 2012, we’ve striven to make the music industry fairer, simpler, and more transparent by bridging the gap between creativity, technology, and distribution. We’re very happy to partner with WMG to superserve artists, labels, and distributors around the world.”
The announcement added that “Revelator currently supports hundreds of clients with cloud-based tools that streamline operations and financial reporting for artists, labels, and distributors”.
Among the “full-stack platform’s signature features,” according to the announcment, are “the state-of-the-art Revelator Pro, Revelator API and its White Label solutions”.
WMG added that the “Revelator organization boasts deep expertise in music, technology, and revenue management, and will bring that firepower to WMG’s global operations, while continuing to service its current customers”.
The news confirms a prediction published in MBW founder Tim Ingham’s Tim’s Take’ email in January, in which he noted that he’d heard a whisper over the festive break that Bruno Guez’s Revelator was “attracting heavy acquisitive interest”.
Ingham pointed out that Revelator could be a good fit for Warner as it “would come with a respected tech stack that WMG could ingest and develop”.
The piece also pointed out that the company specializes in FUGA-esque white-label services for indie labels – a potential “turn-key solution for a major music company looking to rival FUGA,” which, as of February, falls under Virgin Music Group’s umbrella.Music Business Worldwide
