BEAT Music Fund, the dance music investment company launched last year by Netherlands-headquartered Armada Music, has announced a slate of new acquisitions, including artist shares and songwriter royalties from Jax Jones.
In an announcement issued on Tuesday (May 21), the company also said it had acquired artist shares in select tracks from Amba Shepherd, and launched a new joint venture with UK-headquartered Sola Records.
BEAT Music’s investment in Jax Jones includes a portion of the London-based DJ and producer’s catalog, including the tracks You Don’t Know Me (with Raye), Where Did You Go (feat. MNEK) and Breathe (with Ina Wroldsen). The tracks have accumulated over 9 billion streams on digital service providers altogether, BEAT Music said.
Jax Jones has become a prominent figure in EDM since 2014 with the likes of Duke Dumont’s I Got You, which Jones co-wrote and co-produced.
Jones has since worked with artists including Charli XCX, Tove Lo, Demi Lovato, and Years & Years.
“After spending time with [Armada Music Group CEO] Maykel [Piron] and learning about his journey in music, partnering with BEAT and Armada Music Group was an obvious choice for me,” Jones said in a statement.
“Both teams share an incredible knowledge of dance music and passion for my work, so I’m confident that my music is in safe hands. With BEAT and Armada as partners, I’m excited to explore new creative avenues and collaborations that will not only expand the scope of my work, but also resonate with my audience. As we embark on this journey together, I am fired up to see where our shared vision takes us!”
BEAT also acquired shares in notable dance tracks from Australia singer/songwriter Amba Shepherd, including collaborations with Hardwell Apollo and United We Are, Smells Like Teen Spirit with R3HAB, Porter Robinson’s Vandalism, and her joint track with QUIX, Heads or Tails. Those tracks have garnered nearly 1 billion streams on Spotify combined, according to BEAT Music.
In 2013, Elektro Mag named Shepherd “the most relevant guest vocalist in EDM.”
“I’m excited to explore new creative avenues and collaborations that will not only expand the scope of my work, but also resonate with my audience.”
Jax Jones
Finally, BEAT announced a joint venture with Sola Records, the UK-headquartered label launched in 2017 by production and DJ duo Mark Foster and James Barlow, aka Solardo.
The venture will see Sola work closely with the music investment fund on A&R, label management, distribution and promotion and marketing for label releases. BEAT last year acquired Sola’s entire back catalog.
The new joint venture between Sola Records and BEAT includes artists Maur & FABER, Draxx and Majestic, as well as Solardo.
“Following Armada’s 20th anniversary last year, it’s incredibly exciting to see such momentum for BEAT and the spotlight on the dance music market right now,” Armada Music Group’s Piron said.
“We are honored to be entrusted with a portion of Jax Jones’ incredible catalog and several of Amba Shepherd’s most notable tracks and look forward to taking their work to exciting new places. The forthcoming releases with Sola Records also fuels BEAT’s growth in the music acquisition market and further empowers our mission to celebrate dance artists and breathe new life into the most beloved labels.”
Armada Music launched the BEAT Music Fund last year with a plan to invest $100 million in dance music in the coming years. It has since significantly upgraded those plans, and now says it plans to spend $500 million in the next five years.
“Following Armada’s 20th anniversary last year, it’s incredibly exciting to see such momentum for BEAT and the spotlight on the dance music market right now.”
Maykel Piron, Armada Music Group
Since its launch, the fund has acquired King Street Sounds, the prominent New York music label, as well as a “significant portion” of the catalog of UK-headquartered label ViVA Music.
It has also acquired the master and catalog rights of DJ duo Chocolate Puma, and Dutch label and publisher Cloud 9 Music.
Earlier this year, Armada Music and BEAT Music Fund reorganized under a new parent company, Armada Music Group, which also includes Armada Music Publishing.
Armada Music describes itself as the world’s largest indie dance music label, and together with BEAT Music Fund, it jointly manages a catalog of more than 50,000 tracks by artists such as Armin van Buuren, Lilly Palmer, D.O.D, Yulia Niko, Loud Luxury, THEMBA, and Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano.
Armada Music Publishing represents songwriters and producers such as Kevin Saunderson, ARTY, Nervo, and Reinier Zonneveld.Music Business Worldwide
