Music licensing and distribution platform Songtradr has officially merged sync company Cuesongs with its Big Sync Music subsidiary.
Santa Monica-headquartered Songtradr announced the move via a formal release that was shared with Digital Music News. The eight-year-old company acquired Big Sync Music back in February of 2019, while UK-based Cuesongs became a division of Songtradr in November of 2020.
Now, Big Sync, with existing clients such as Unilever, Spotify, and Google, is set to absorb Peter Gabriel-founded Cuesongs, which arrived on the scene in 2016. “This move will add a strong creative team to the Big Sync roster, as well as increase the service offerings to existing Cuesongs clients,” according to Songtradr’s release.
Addressing the development in a statement, Big Sync founder and CEO Dominic Caisley said: “Cuesongs’ catalog of work and the creative expertise they have in the licensing space aligns perfectly with the Big Sync brand. With these two companies coming together, we are looking forward to seeing the impact we will make in all aspects of the music space – from original composition to sync licensing.”
As part of the consolidation, Justin McMullen, who served as Cuesongs’ creative director for a decade, has become executive creative director for Big Sync. Plus, former Cuesongs business development manager Lauren Thackray has signed on as Big Sync’s client services director.
“We’re looking forward to joining the Big Sync team,” McMullen said in a statement of his own. “The caliber of clients they’ve worked on over the years is a testament to their work and the relationships they’ve built.”
Regarding the clients and projects that Cuesongs itself is bringing to Big Sync, the company previously tackled assignments for the Premier League and beauty business Coty (NYSE: COTY). Plus, the combined entity is developing “several hip hop documentaries that will be released this year,” Songtradr specified.
More broadly, Songtradr has made a number of other acquisitions as of late – including multiple high-profile buyouts in 2021, which saw the company complete a $50 million Series D funding round.
Last April brought with it Songtradr’s purchase of livestream music licensing platform Pretzel and visual media music database Tunefind, for instance. Then, Songtradr in June bought creative music agency MassiveMusic and established a global creative division led by MAX Music Management & Consulting founder and former INgrooves higher-up Amanda Schupf.
After making the latter appointment, Songtradr tapped former Coca-Cola head of global music Joe Belliotti to serve as CEO of MassiveMusic’s North American operations.