All Things Considered Group PLC Driift acquires livestreaming platform Dreamstage (2508B)

TIDMATC

RNS Number : 2508B

All Things Considered Group PLC

30 September 2022

All Things Considered Group Plc

("ATC", the "Company" or the "Group")

Driift receives investment from Deezer as it acquires technology and commerce platform Dreamstage

The acquisition combines leading production and tech capabilities to create a new livestreaming powerhouse. ATC will retain 32.5% of Driift following the GBP4m investment from Deezer.

London, September 30, 2022 - All Things Considered G roup Plc (AQSE: ATC), an independent music company housing talent management, live booking, livestreaming and talent services, has today announced that Driift, a leading UK based livestreaming business which ATC co-founded, has acquired Dreamstage, a technology and commerce platform that allows artists to engage their fanbase in highly interactive live streaming events (the "Transaction"). As part of this Transaction, Driift will be further strengthened by an additional GBP4m investment from Deezer, one of the largest independent music streaming platforms in the world, bringing the total investment across Driift and Dreamstage to more than GBP12m since they were founded in 2020.

The merger will bring together Driift's award winning production capabilities with Dreamstage's best-in-class technology and commerce platform, creating a new leader in livestreamed music experiences. The combined business will continue under the Driift name, run by CEO Ric Salmon and COO Claire Mas.

Founded in August 2020, Driift has delivered a succession of premium quality livestreamed events for some of the world's biggest artists and performers, collaborating with multiple creative and distribution partners, and winning major awards including a BAFTA for "Glastonbury Festival: Live at Worthy Farm" produced in cooperation with BBC Studios.

In May 2022, Dreamstage provided the platform for Driift's hugely successful global livestream for Little Mix, from London's O2 Arena, facilitating sales of over 85,000 tickets worldwide, showcasing strong synergies between both businesses.

The Transaction demonstrates continued execution of Driift's strategy within the fast-growing music livestreaming market, which shows continued increases in audience numbers and a clear willingness to pay for quality content and add-ons such as merchandising and virtual meet-and-greets. Virtual concerts ticket sales are expected to generate up to $2 billion worldwide in 2022, and up to around $5 billion annually by 2028 (Source: MIDiA - Jan-2022).

Adam Driscoll, CEO of ATC said, "The establishment of Driift in 2020 as a reaction to the pandemic related shut down of the live music business was a clear example of ATC innovating in the face of industry challenges. Livestreaming is now becoming established as a new vertical in the music industry and will be a significant part of its future. As the live touring business has emerged from lockdown over recent months, Driift has been at the forefront of the evolution of the livestreaming concert model. Driift has already built an unparalleled reputation for bringing groundbreaking livestreams to music fans all over the world, and we believe that the addition of Dreamstage's tech and sales platform will take the business to the next level. We are confident that the additional investment from Deezer and the support that they can provide to the business as now its largest shareholder will enable Driift to become a substantial player in what will be a huge new segment of the music industry in the future. We are very excited to have such a strong group of partners in the Driift business, benefiting the prospects for both Driift and the ATC Group."

Ric Salmon, CEO Driift said, "This is an exciting new chapter for Driift. Over the past two years we have become genuine pioneers in the livestreaming space. We've collaborated with certain of the world's most talented artists, filmmakers and creators to deliver online events that have been part of the latest redefinition of the livestreaming format. Our team has shown a proven ability to innovate, selling hundreds of thousands of tickets and generating millions of dollars in revenues already".

"Through Deezer's investment, we are confident that our upward trajectory will accelerate. We are delighted to welcome Dreamstage's hugely talented team of developers, engineers and customer service personnel into the company. We can now offer a fully integrated livestreaming solution to our partners, with production, promotion and what we see as a market-leading technology and revenue generating platform under one roof. It is a major cultural shift, and we look forward to bringing an even greater range of live experiences to truly global audiences ."

ATC, Driift and Deezer would like to thank Dreamstage's founders Thomas Hesse, Scott Chasin and Jan Vogler for their work in building Dreamstage over the past years, and for contributing to the success of this Transaction. We would also like to thank Beggars Group, for their commitment and contribution in the merger.

Further information on the Transaction

-- The Driift share acquisition of Dreamstage Inc. and GBP4m investment by Deezer have completed today and as such the ATC Group's value of Driift is unchanged and now represents a 32.5% undiluted interest in Driift Holdings Ltd

   --      ATC now holds two of the five board seats in Driift 
   --      Upon completion, Driift will be accounted for by the ATC Group as a share of an associate 

-- For the 12 months ended 31 December 2021, Driift recorded revenues and other income of GBP5.2 million; loss before tax of GBP2.1m; and gross assets on that date of GBP3.4m

-- For the seven months ended 31 July 2022, Dreamstage recorded revenues of $1.9 million; loss before tax of $1.2m; and gross assets on that date of $1.9m

This announcement contains information that the Company considers to be inside information related to the Group for the purposes of article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 as amended by regulation 11 of the Market Abuse (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019/310. With the publication of this announcement, this information is now considered to be in the public domain.

-S-

For more information, please contact:

 
ATC Group                             Via Alma PR 
Adam Driscoll, CEO 
Rameses Villanueva, CFO 
 
Canaccord Genuity                     [phone] 
Aquis Corporate Adviser and Broker 
Adam James / Patrick Dolaghan 
Alma PR                               [phone] 
Financial PR 
Hilary Buchanan / Lily Soares Smith 
 

Notes to Editors

About ATC

ATC Group is a prominent independent music company offering live rights, live agency, production, artist management and investment and a range of other music artist services. ATC Group is the only independently-owned company in the industry housing talent management, live booking, livestreaming and talent services within the same group.

The Company has an established, long-standing client base with over 50 artists on its management roster and over 400 acts on the live roster.

The Group's five key divisions are:

   -- ATC Management:   artist management; 
   -- ATC Live:   live event booking agency for artists; 

-- Livestreaming : through Driift, a global livestreaming business and Flymachine, a livestreaming platform;

-- ATC Services;

   -- Polyphonic;   an artist partnerships venture 
   For more information see:   www.atcgroupplc.com 

The Group is headquartered in London, with offices in Los Angeles, New York and Copenhagen and is led by an experienced management team who have operated across multiple music industry sectors.

About DEEZER

Deezer is one of the largest independent music streaming platforms in the world, with more than 90 million tracks available in 180 countries, providing access to lossless HiFi audio, innovative recommendation technology and industry defining features. As the home of music, Deezer brings artists and fans together on a scalable and global platform, to unlock the full potential of music through technology. Founded in 2007 in Paris, Deezer is now a global company with a team of over 600 people based in France, Germany, UK, Brazil and the US, all brought together by their passion for music, technology and innovation. Deezer is listed on the Professional Segment of Euronext Paris (Ticker: DEEZR. ISIN: FR001400AYG6) and is also part of the newly-created Euronext Tech Leaders segment, dedicated to European high-growth tech companies, and its associated index.

For the latest news on Deezer go to https://www.deezer-blog.com/press/ . For investor information, please visit www.deezer-investors.com . Like us on Facebook , and follow us on Twitter , LinkedIn and Instagram for real-time information.

About DRIIFT

Driift is an award-winning producer, promoter and platform for the highest quality livestream events for the world's greatest artists and performers, including The Smile, Jack Johnson, HAIM, Coldplay, Jorja Smith, Michael Kiwanuka, Laura Marling, Nick Cave, Niall Horan, Andrea Bocelli, Kylie Minogue, Little Mix and Dita Von Teese. Working with globally-renowned directors and iconic venues, Driift builds and delivers full campaigns for these shows and partners with managers, agents, traditional promoters, labels and ticketing companies across the industry. Headquartered in the UK and with offices in North America and Australia, Driift has sold more than 700,000 tickets to audiences in more than 190 countries, while our productions have been recognised with major awards from BAFTA, the Royal Television Society and The Webbys. https://driift.live/

About DREAMSTAGE

Dreamstage is a live streaming technology and sales platform that has delivered over 70 live shows since its launch in 2020, including Polo G, Chief Keef, Yo-Yo Ma, Train, Sean Paul, Mastodon and, in partnership with Driift, Dita Von Tesse, Little Mix, and Jonny Greenwood and Thom Yorke's new band, The Smile. Its rich capabilities allow artists to engage their fanbase in highly interactive live streaming events and monetize these via ticket sales, brand sponsorship, merchandising, VIP experiences, and charity donations.

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September 30, 2022 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT)