5 Music Licensing Business Success Stories [2023]
Here are some real life success stories of starting a music licensing business:
1. Easy Song ($3.78M/year)
Aaron Green and his childhood friend Mark Meikle started EasySongLicensing.com as a side project while running their mobile recording business, Legacy Productions. Sensing that the mobile recording industry had limited growth potential, Mark built a website to organize music licensing and saw an opportunity to bridge the gap between indie artists and large music publishers. They invested in the domain name EasySongLicensing.com and ultimately transitioned their focus to building the licensing agent business, which now boasts a user base of over 60,000 clients and brought in $2.5M in 2018 alone.
How much they make: $3.78M/year
How much did it cost to start: $75K
Current team size: 11
EasySongLicensing.com grew from a mobile recording business to a bootstrapped music licensing agent, with a user base of over 60,000 clients and a gross profit of $2.5M in 2018, seeing a 30% increase in 2019, through investment in online marketing, customer service, and forming new partnerships.
2. Crucial Music ($900K/year)
Tanvi Patel, the founder of Crucial Music Corporation, came up with the idea for her music licensing business after realizing the growing demand for indie music in film, television, and advertising. With her background in the music industry and the success of shows like The O.C., Patel saw an opportunity to offer quality indie music to clients and launched CrucialMusic.com in 2006. Through word of mouth and strong relationships with clients, the business has grown organically and now serves major studios, streamers, and ad agencies with a catalog of over 16,000 songs.
How much they make: $900K/year
How much did it cost to start: $300K
Current team size: 4
Crucial Music Corporation, a music licensing company, has been profitable for years with a net profit margin between 30-35%, all without an annual marketing budget, due to their reputation for fair agreements and transparency, which has resulted in word-of-mouth growth.
So... can you actually make money with a music licensing business?
Of course. There are millions to be made in this industry.
But how?
- Research real, profitable businesses and see exactly how much money they make.
- Study exactly what works, and what doesnβt.
- Take action, because now you have the roadmap.
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3. ProductionCrate, LLC ($600K/year)
Chris Kelly, the founder of ProductionCrate, came up with the idea when he started making videos with his roommates in college and realized there was a demand for special effects. He created a website where he could store and share his assets, and it quickly gained traction. After a few weeks, he added sidebar ads and realized that he could turn his passion into a business.
How much they make: $600K/year
How much did it cost to start: $15
Current team size: 4
ProductionCrate, a virtual studio offering royalty-free music, video effects, graphics and sound assets, bootstrapped to $600k/year with over 10 million downloads, and one million users, thanks to loyal customer retention rates of around 80% YoY growth at 120%.
Hey! π I'm Pat Walls, the founder of Starter Story.
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