Bandzoogle has purchased DJ-centered website-creation platform SoundJam, the companies announced today.
Bandzoogle has officially acquired DJ-focused website-creation platform SoundJam.co.
Bandzoogle – which announced an integration agreement with on-demand printing service Printful to kick off 2021 – unveiled the SoundJam.co acquisition this morning, via a general release. This concise message doesn’t disclose the transaction’s financial specifics, but it does note that existing SoundJam users are set to gain “access to Bandzoogle’s wide range of features for promoting their music and engaging their fans.”
New SoundJam users, for their part, will be directed “to use the Bandzoogle platform,” the involved parties indicated. (The “DJ Website builder” plan on SoundJam costs the same, $8.29 per month, as Bandzoogle’s “Lite” tier.) And moving forward, SoundJam intends to “pivot to become a one-stop destination for DJs, offering a suite of complementary services that will help up-and-coming DJs turbo-boost their careers,” higher-ups relayed.
Addressing the buyout in a statement, Bandzoogle CEO Stacey Bedford said: “We’re excited that SoundJam members will be joining the thousands of DJs already enjoying Bandzoogle’s best-in-class website building and direct-to-fan tools.
“Their team shares our vision of helping musicians become successful, and we’re looking forward to working with them to help their members and thousands of other DJs achieve their career goals,” finished the nearly 14-year Bandzoogle veteran Bedford, who became CEO in 2018.
SoundJam was founded in 2019 by Digital Heroes owner Tom Watts and Stereo Social owner Hatty Hanna, and Watts acknowledged the deal in a statement of his own. “The SoundJam team saw that a partnership with the biggest and best player in the website builder market – Bandzoogle – could only enable us to grow further and in turn enhance the careers of thousands of DJs more quickly,” he said in part.
The acquisition’s financial details haven’t been publicly announced, as mentioned, but it’s worth noting that the transaction arrives amid a years-running earnings falloff for DJs.
DJs in pre-pandemic 2018 saw their earnings plunge to a five-year low, according to the International Music Summit’s annual analysis. The same source reported a further 68 percent falloff in DJs’ income during 2020, notwithstanding the pivot towards livestreaming and the substantial growth enjoyed by the broader music industry.
Despite these less-than-encouraging stats, 2021 has brought with it several positive developments in the DJ space.
Back in March, for instance, DJ 3LAU set a record for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) at auction, generating a staggering $11.6 million by selling 33 NFTs. And Amazon Music in June launched “DJ Mode,” while this month has ushered in the reemergence of tt.fm (including several noteworthy new features) as well as the arrival of DJ mixes on Apple Music.
Lastly, SiriusXM one month ago debuted TikTok Radio – followed soon thereafter by SoundCloud Radio – and the station features live programs hosted by a number of DJs.