Photo Credit: Artlist
Subscription music licensing platform Artlist has acquired digital assets marketplace Motion Array in a $65 million deal.
Tel Aviv, Israel-based Artlist unveiled the multimillion-dollar buyout today, in a formal release that was shared with Digital Music News. Wilmington, Delaware-headquartered Motion Array bills itself as an “all-in-one video & filmmakers platform” and, according to Artlist’s announcement message, employs north of 40 team members.
The just-purchased subscription platform, which was founded in 2013, allows clients to download stock footage, motion graphics, royalty-free music, video-editing plugins, and more. Factoring for existing Motion Array subscribers, Artlist – which also utilizes a subscription business model – “will reach more than six million users worldwide,” in addition to expanding its catalog by over 500,000 stock assets.
Monthly subscription prices vary for Artlist ($16.60 per month for unlimited music and $25 per month for unlimited sound effects and music) as well as its subsidiaries, Motion Array ($29.99 per month) and stock-footage library Artgrid ($39.92 per month for the middle package). Plus, Motion Array offers a discount when clients pay for a yearlong subscription upfront. But a rough calculation at $30 per month for each subscriber suggests that Artlist could generate approximately $180 million monthly, based upon the above-noted user projection.
Addressing the Motion Array acquisition in a statement, Artlist cofounder and co-CEO Itzik Elbaz said: “This move is invaluable to Artlist as it helps us maintain our position as the go-to solution for creators in the constantly expanding world of video content.
“We are excited to bring our high-quality curation capabilities to additional creative assets. Motion Array’s offerings will streamline our continued efforts to provide our subscribers with creative freedom and increase their video production value,” concluded the Technion graduate.
Motion Array cofounder Tyler Williams echoed the sentiment, relaying in a statement of his own: “We feel that this merger is just the boost needed to turn Motion Array and Artlist into a true powerhouse marketplace that caters to all creators’ needs. This move is a fulfillment of the vision we had when we created our company 7 years ago and we are truly excited.”
Aside from expanding the existing catalog of Artlist, which raised $48 million in a funding round led by investment firm KKR this summer, the Motion Array buyout will allow the four-year-old business to continue “providing video creators with a comprehensive solution for every video need,” per the release.
Building upon the latter point, Artlist debuted the aforementioned Artgrid in spring of 2019 and began hosting a “vast” sound effects catalog earlier this year.