If a musical artist does not publish his work on Spotify or YouTube, it is practically impossible for it to reach the ears of the masses. The emergence of streaming platforms has radically changed consumption and, as a consequence, the business model of artists and record labels.
Faced with this new panorama, the little ones have come out badly because they do not have the necessary resources to post their content on all the digital platforms that exist in the world. The Barcelona company Sonosuite is trying to remedy this problem, providing independent record labels with access to more than 200 platforms, including Spotify, YouTube, Apple Music, Amazon Music or Meta.
“We estimate that there are 10 million creators in the world who do not work for Universal, Sony or Warner, the three major record labels that control the most relevant artists in the industry,” comments Sebastián Mañana, general director of the Barcelona startup.
Born in 2017, Sonosuite operates around the world, especially in the United States and the United Kingdom, where the music industry is more mature. Also in other Western European countries, such as Spain, and other emerging territories, such as Brazil, India or the African continent.
With 58 people on staff, Sonosuite had a turnover of 19.2 million euros in 2023 and, this year, it aims for 25 million. “We grow by inertia, because we gain popularity among independent record labels that hire our services,” says the Uruguayan manager based in Barcelona.
The business idea came from Jose Luis Zagazeta, a Peruvian entrepreneur closely linked to the Barcelona music technology ecosystem, and his Dutch colleague, Maarten van Wijck. Both are owners of the company, along with other minority shareholders, but are not linked to the daily management of the business.
“In this sector, a lot of competition has emerged and Zagazeta and Van Wijck had the idea in time, becoming one of the first local entrepreneurs to enter this business,” says Mañana.
Since its inception, the startup has been financed with its own funds and rules out capital increases that would give entry to investor funds. “We have achieved profits in 2023 and the gross margin is 18% of total revenue.” The manager adds that Sonosuite is not for sale, that its goal is to become an icon of the independent ecosystem of the music industry.