When Believe went public in 2021, it was an undeniable power move. The blockbuster stock market debut injected a massive war chest of capital into the business, signaling to the entire financial world that Believe had officially entered the global heavyweight division, commanding a workforce of over 2,000 experts across 50 countries.
The billion-euro great escape
Believe has a significant opportunity ahead to consolidate the independent music market and create the first global major independent, at the service of artists at all stages of their career.
Denis Ladegaillerie
Founder & CEO, Believe
While the company was expanding at supersonic speed, stock market day-traders didn’t always appreciate the creative rhythm of the music business. By early 2024, a powerhouse consortium formed by founder and CEO Denis Ladegaillerie, alongside major long-term stakeholders EQT and TCV, launched a massive €1.523 billion takeover bid to buy back the company: it was time for Believe to break free from the public market and reclaim its absolute independence.
Because the trio already controlled 71.92% of Believe’s share capital and 77.42% of the voting rights, they launched a mandatory tender offer to sweep up the remaining public shares at €15 each. This represented a 43.8% premium over the previous month’s average trading price. The board of directors immediately gave the plan a unanimous, enthusiastic thumbs-up.
“Since being a public company, Believe has systematically outperformed its objectives, delivering its IPO plan two years ahead of schedule,” said Denis Ladegaillerie on revealing the consortium’s bid. “However the strength of its operational performance has not been reflected in the share price evolution. Believe has a significant opportunity ahead to consolidate the independent music market and create the first global major independent, at the service of artists at all stages of their career.“
Enter the major labels: the Warner plot twist
With the major music companies actively seeking to strengthen their positions in the independent music sector, Believe’s privatization process attracted additional interest. In early March 2024, Warner Music Group publicly confirmed that it had approached Believe regarding a potential combination and had indicated that it could value the company at a price of at least €17 per share, on a confidential, exploratory and non-binding basis.
“WMG would provide Believe with strategic support and financial stability to help the development and growth of the Company, including by accelerating its expansion into new geographies”, the major label announced in a statement.
The high-stakes standoff was thrilling but short-lived. By early April, after peaking behind the curtain, WMG issued a brief corporate memo stating that “after careful consideration, it has decided not to submit a binding offer for Believe.” The runway was now completely cleared for Denis Ladegaillerie’s independence mission.
Reclaiming the independent crown
With enhanced financial agility […] the group is now best equipped to achieve our collective goal: to make Believe the global leader in independent music, serving artists and labels worldwide.
Denis Ladegaillerie
Founder & CEO, Believe
Once Warner dropped out, the buy-back plan accelerated at blinding speed. By June 2024, the founder-led consortium had secured over 85% of Believe’s public shares, quickly climbing to a crushing 95% total control by the end of the month. The company was officially locked down, privatized, and liberated from public market distractions.
“Following the friendly takeover bid we initiated, the Consortium now holds 95% of Believe’s capital, announced Denis Ladegaillerie. “Our shareholders have overwhelmingly decided to tender their shares to the offer, leading to a real success! With enhanced financial agility and the proven expertise of the Consortium members, the group is now best equipped to achieve our collective goal: to make Believe the global leader in independent music, serving artists and labels worldwide.“
No speed limits on global growth
While the multi-billion-euro corporate saga was unfolding in the boardrooms, the music machine outside didn’t skip a single beat. In March 2024, Believe revealed that its 2023 annual revenues had climbed to an impressive €880.3 million, backed by the news that over for TuneCore only, 80,000 independent musicians were actively using the automated TuneCore Accelerator marketing engine to amplify their global reach.
The international expansion rolled on without interruption. Believe Japan launched PLAYCODE, a dedicated new label engineered to champion the underground Japanese hip-hop scene, perfectly mirroring the hyper-local hip-hop blueprint that conquered France a decade prior. By July 2024, Believe secured a 25% stake in Romania’s premier music force, Global Records, and by September, regulators gave the green light for Believe to officially absorb Turkey’s independent powerhouse, Doğan Music Company (DMC).
To top off this stellar run of growth, TuneCore announced a staggering milestone: it had successfully funneled over $4 billion directly into the pockets of self-releasing artists since 2006. By August, Believe reported H1 2024 revenues of €474.1 million, a sharp 14.1% leap forward compared to the previous year.
Navigating the modern frontiers of sound
This milestone took place during a period of significant change across the music industry. In February 2024, Universal Music Group temporarily removed its catalogue from TikTok during a licensing dispute, before reaching a new agreement with the platform in May. Believe, which had long viewed short-form video as an important channel for music discovery, continued to develop its capabilities on the platform, rolling out TikTok’s Add to Music feature across 163 markets to help artists reach new audiences.
The broader international music economy continued its historic upward march. According to IFPI data, global recorded music revenues grew 4.8% to reach an all-time high of $29.6 billion in 2024. Streaming subscriptions jumped 9.5% to hit a staggering 752 million paid users worldwide, driving a massive $20.4 billion streaming economy that captured 69% of the total market space. To illustrate the scale of this digital ecosystem, Spotify revealed it had distributed a massive $9 billion to rights holders in a single year.
As Believe approached its twentieth anniversary, the company had assembled the key elements of the model it had been building for two decades: a global technology platform, strong local market positions, financial flexibility and a comprehensive artist development offering. It was now positioned to pursue its long-term ambition of becoming the world’s leading global artist development company.
———————
Article written by Eamonn Forde. Eamonn Forde is an award-winning music business journalist and author. He writes for The Guardian, Forbes; Music Week, and Music Business Worldwide and several other publications.
