Two of the most prominent names in DJ tech are joining forces.
Japan-headquartered AlphaTheta Corporation, the company behind the Pioneer DJ brand, announced on Tuesday (July 11) that it is acquiring all shares of Serato Audio Research Ltd., the New Zealand-headquartered company known for its Serato DJ software.
The deal is subject to approval by the New Zealand Overseas Investment Office.
The two companies have been working together for more than a decade, ever since AlphaTheta – formerly known as Pioneer DJ Corporation – developed hardware that was compatible with Serato’s DJ software. Today a variety of Pioneer DJ controllers are compatible with Serato, as well as with its own DJ software, rekordbox.
In a press release Tuesday, AlphaTheta said Pioneer DJ and Serato will continue to operate as standalone brands, and the companies’ various longstanding partnerships with key players in the DJ hardware and software industry will continue.
MBW understands that global strategic advisory and investment firm Raine Group was involved in the sale as a representative for Serato. (Raine Group recently closed its latest fund, Raine Partners IV, with $760 million in the kitty.)
AlphaTheta President and CEO Yoshinori Kataoka said he was “delighted” by the acquisition.
“Through extensive discussions within our company and with Serato’s management team, we have been exploring new ways to contribute to the industry,” Kataoka said in a statement.
“Bringing Serato into the AlphaTheta Group will lead to new synergies and significant technological innovations, adding continued value to the community.”
“Serato has enjoyed a 25-year history of success that is driven by a single-minded focus on serving DJs, producers and artists,” said Young Ly, CEO of Serato.
“We are incredibly proud of both the strength of our business as well as the community that surrounds our brand. Today, we are excited to deepen our long-standing partnership with AlphaTheta, accelerating how we create value for our users and the industry.”
AlphaTheta Corporation began life in 1994 as the DJ equipment division of electronics giant Pioneer. In 2015, Pioneer spun off the DJ division into a standalone company, Pioneer DJ Corporation. The company renamed itself AlphaTheta in 2020, and as of December, 2022, it had 471 employees.
“Bringing Serato into the AlphaTheta Group will lead to new synergies and significant technological innovations, adding continued value to the community.”
Yoshinori Kataoka, AlphaTheta Corporation
Serato is one of the world’s largest providers of software for DJs, with around 150 employees. The company launched in 1999 with Pitch n’ Time, which it says is “still the world’s foremost studio plugin for time-stretching and pitch-shifting technology.” Serato went on to develop a number of software products that allowed DJs to control digital music through their turntables.
Many of those technologies were integrated into the Serato DJ platform, which the company launched in 2012 in conjunction with the Pioneer DJ DDJ-SX, a four-channel controller designed to be integrated with Serato products.
“We are excited to deepen our long-standing partnership with AlphaTheta, accelerating how we create value for our users and the industry.”
Young Ly, Serato
The acquisition comes at a time of continued consolidation in the professional audio business.
In June, synthesizer maker Moog Music announced it had been acquired by inMusic, a conglomerate that has built up a portfolio of audio hardware businesses.
Most recently, private equity firm Providence Equity Partners announced on Monday (July 10) that it had acquired Germany-headquartered d&b, a major provider of professional audio tech and end-to-end audio, video, light and media (AVLM) solutions for live entertainment.
Private equity firms have become increasingly active in the audio hardware and software space, something that insiders attribute to growing earnings from subscription services, and the increasing ease of use of audio tech, which has opened up new opportunities for creators to distribute and monetize music.Music Business Worldwide
