7digital gets £4.3m funding boost
- Added:
- Jan 29, 2008
Online music and media provider 7digital has agreed terms for an investment of £4.25 million ($8.5 million) with a group of investors led by Sutton Place Managers, as well as existing investor Balderton Capital (formerly Benchmark Europe).
Sutton Place Managers is a media specialist investor. Mark Getty, co-founder of Getty Images and Partner of Sutton Place Managers, commented: “We are excited to be investing in a platform which has the potential to emerge as a major player in the evolving digital music industry.
“7digital comprises a unique combination of high quality B2B download store services, an emerging B2C digital media community (“7digital.com”) and a platform for unsigned artists to reach out to digital music consumers (“indiestore.com”).”
Patrick Maxwell, also a Partner of Sutton Place Managers, is expected to join 7digital’s board.
With digital music sales currently accounting for approximately 15% of the world’s music sales, the sector is now worth an estimated $2.9 billion.
The additional funding will enable 7digital to capitalise on increasing consumer demand for digital music and video downloads. It will also enable 7digital to further its international expansion, particularly in the US.
Ben Drury, CEO of 7digital, comments: “The last year has seen rapid growth in the digital music market and this year we expect it to grow even faster with the move toward the open MP3 format. 7digital has enjoyed incredible growth in the UK and Europe and with this new investment we are well-placed to expand overseas and into new areas.”
This announcement follows a phenomenal year for 7digital, with customer numbers reaching over 1.1 million, sales increasing 188% and successful partnerships with companies including Last.fm and Bebo. The company now offers a catalogue of over 3.5 million music and video downloads, with a large proportion available in high-quality MP3 320kbps format (free of Digital Rights Management, DRM).
The investment is expected to close by the end of February 2008.