Record label Believe follows Universal with €2bn listing plan
French record label Believe is gearing up for a €2bn (£1.7bn) stock market float as the music industry looks to cash in on a streaming-induced boom.
The startup, which offers distribution services to help artists get discovered on platforms such as Spotifty and Apple Music, is hoping to raise €500m through a listing on the Euronext Paris index.
Believe, whose artists include James Vincent McMorrow and French rapper Jul, is reportedly seeking a valuation of more than €2bn.
The plans mark the latest efforts by music companies to cash in on the rising value of songs. The sector is experiencing renewed growth as the popularity of streaming has reversed the impact of a decade of piracy.
Earlier this year French media giant Vivendi unveiled plans for a €30bn stock market listing of Universal, the world’s biggest music company that is home to stars including Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga.
Universal’s listing is set to take place on the Amsterdam stock exchange, which is also operated by Euronext. It follows the debut of rival Warner Media Group, which raised $1.9bn in a US float last year.
A host of artists have also sold rights to their back catalogues to companies such as London-listed Hipgnosis, which look to pump additional royalties from songs through streaming and by placing them in films and TV shows.
Believe, which was founded in 2005 by Denis Ladegaillerie, specialises in developing up and coming artists and labels in the streaming era.
The Paris-based company recorded digital music sales of €728m last year, up 54 per cent since 2018. Revenue grew by more than a third over the same period to €441m.
In a statement today Ladegaillerie said his company was “ideally positioned” to cash in on the shift to digital listening thanks to its “unique” business model.
“This IPO project would enable us to accelerate our development and continue to pursue our profitable growth trajectory while achieving our mission to help build a better, more diverse, more respectful, more transparent and fairer future for all artists,” he said.
Citi, JP Morgan and Societe Generale are acting as joint global coordinators and joint bookrunners while BNP Paribas, Goldman Sachs, HSBC and UBS are acting as joint bookrunners in the planned IPO. Rothschild is acting as independent financial adviser to Believe.