One of the most painful spectacles the business realm has been watching is the monumental fall of SFX Entertainment. From failing to buy public shares to have the company go private and finally having to file chapter 11 bankruptcy at the start of this month, SFX appears to be taking everyone down with them as their ship continues to sink. The crew members aboard include ID&T (who have a 75% stake and include Tomorrowland, Sensation, etc.) Life In Color, Miami Marketing Group (Liv, Story), Electric Zoo, and most famously Beatport.
From their inability to pay artist royalties late last year to now, Beatport has sat silently as the conglomerate that owns them burns to the ground. According to Billboard, the reigns have tightened on them as their expenditures raised tremendously. From $11.2 million in 2014 to $18.5 million last year, salaries and general expenses rose by $7.5m. As a result, Beatport has a loss of approximately $5.5 million in the past year.
Even though Beatport continues to be the largest online music store that specializes in electronic music, it is unclear how much debris from SFX’s collapse will land in their offices. As it is, TomorrowWorld (which launched successfully three years ago) had a huge weather related blunder last year, and due to its bad timing with SFX’s issues, may not come back this year. If Beatport does not find a way out of SFX’s sinking ship, this beautiful brand and iconic store will continue to feel the pinch in its wallet.
