Core Music Industry Funding Jumped in October — As the YTD Total Remains Well Beneath Its 2023 Counterpart, DMN Pro Data Shows

Core music industry funding achieved a significant year-over-year increase during October, though the YTD total remains well beneath its 2023 counterpart, according to an analysis of DMN Pro data.

These and other valuable takeaways come specifically from the Music Industry Funding Tracker, DMN Pro’s searchable, filterable database of funding rounds from in and around the industry. Previously, we crunched the numbers and identified a substantial Q3 2024 industry-funding falloff from the same three-month period in 2023.

But at least when it comes to the core music space, the trend let up during Q4 2024’s first month, which delivered seven raises worth a cumulative $1.13 billion or so. Technically, that’s lower than the $2.02 billion (courtesy of six rounds) attributable to October 2023.

However, as noted, the comprehensive resource compiles pertinent industry-adjacent rounds as well – like the $2 billion that Anthropic scored in October 2023. Minus the AI giant’s massive contribution, the month’s industry funding came in at $24.03 million last year. (Additionally, Lounges.tv didn’t publicly attach a value to its October 2023 raise.)

By contrast, just one of October 2024’s raises, Twitter/X competitor Bluesky’s $15 million Series A, fell outside the core industry. Of course, that round is materially smaller than Anthropic’s $2 billion capital commitment from October 2023.

Is the funding boost a sign of things to come during the remainder of 2024 and possibly the new year? While we can’t say for certain at present, that doesn’t mean we’re without telling insights.

Focusing on the bigger picture, music IP investments are here to stay. Though that won’t necessarily come as a surprise (especially given 2024’s steady stream of high-profile catalog purchases), it’s worth pointing out because there are only so many bodies of work for buyers to bet on. Despite an increasingly large pile of wrapped song-rights purchases, capital is continuing to pour into the sub-sector.

For October 2024 alone, that refers to nearly $1 billion in total proceeds from the asset-backed securitizations of Concord ($850 million) and Duetti ($80 million on top of a $34 million equity raise). Earlier in 2024, the likes of Iconic Artists Group ($1 billion) and Duetti (this time a $90 million venture round) unveiled separate raises.

To underscore the obvious, catalog-earmarked capital must wind up somewhere – with additional deals yet presumably forthcoming in 2025 and beyond. On the other hand, it’s unclear whether this type of publicly disclosed music industry funding, already in the billions in a year that’s seen a YoY decline in cumulative raises, will approach the same level next year.

Closing with a quick look at where overall YTD music industry funding sits through October, total raises (adjacent and otherwise) as registered by the Music Industry Funding Tracker are down about 68.4% YoY, at $3.16 billion from just shy of $10 billion in January-October 2023.