Independent music distribution service DistroKid announced its recent acquisition of Bandzoogle, the website builder designed for musicians. The financial details of the transaction weren’t publicly disclosed.
The acquisition is a smart move for the company since DistroKid users can now power digital, physical and on-demand sales “within the DistroKid ecosystem,” the company noted in its announcement. However, note that non-DistroKid users can still use Bandzoogle.
Many independent artists on DistroKid will likely benefit from having Bandzoogle’s tools at their disposal. Bandzoogle, founded by musician Chris Vinson in 2003, offers a suite of e-commerce features to help artists sell their music, merchandise and concert tickets commission-free directly to fans. Other revenue opportunities include fan subscriptions, mailing lists, crowdfunding and virtual tips.
Since its inception, Bandzoogle users have sold more than $100 million in music, merch and tickets. The platform currently powers over 60,000 websites.
DistroKid is used by over two million artists and distributes about 30-40% of all new music in the world. The company recently introduced its first iPhone app, allowing users to upload new music, check earnings, edit lyrics or credits for previous releases, see streaming stats and more.
DistroKid was founded in 2013 by Philip “Pud” Kaplan, a well-known entrepreneur who has founded several companies, including the Fucked Company website, which sadly shut down in 2007.