(UPDATED) Sonicbids, one of the first major players in the d.i.y. music space, has been sold to Backstage in a deal backed by Guggenheim Partners. Backstage, which specializes in casting, auditions and entertainment industry
opportunities, will now add Sonicbids' electronic marketing tools and performance opportunities for musicians.
No details of the sale were announced, but it is estimated at $15 million. Guggenheim Partners is also the owner of Dick Clark
Productions and Prometheus Global Media, the company behind trade
publications like Billboard and The Hollywood Reporter.
Combined, Backstage and Sonicbids claim 600,000 registered users and
60,000 paying subscribers.
According to a study by RAND, it is estimated that there are 7 million
performing artists in the U.S. and approximately 100 million worldwide.
The combined entities will include 70+ employees with offices in
New York City, Boston and LA. Backstage is a portfolio company of Guggenheim
Partners, and the combined company will be headed by Chairman and CEO John
Amato, with Panos Panay maintaining his role as leader of Sonicbids.
“Sonicbids and Backstage share the same mission of opening
doors for the creative community,” said Panay, who founded Sonicbids in 2001 and serves as its CEO.
“Joining forces creates amazing synergies and brings the worlds of music, film
and social marketing even closer together.”
