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Driift acquires Dreamstage amid Deezer investment

Livestreaming business Driift is acquiring technology and sales platform Dreamstage amid a fresh £4 million investment from French streaming service Deezer.

Dreamstage provided the platform for Driift’s global livestream for Little Mix from The O2 in London in May, facilitating sales of over 85,000 tickets worldwide.

The companies say the union will bring together their respective production and tech capabilities to create a new leader in the livestream market, with the combined business continuing under the Driift name as an independent entity, run by CEO Ric Salmon and COO Claire Mas.

“This is an exciting new chapter for Driift,” says Salmon. “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.”

Co-founded by Salmon and Brian Message at ATC Management, Driift has produced dozens of online shows for artists including The Smile, Westlife, Laura Marling, Nick Cave, Niall Horan, Andrea Bocelli, Kylie Minogue, Fontaines DC and Dita Von Teese, and produced the BAFTA Award-winning Glastonbury Festival: Live at Worthy Farm in cooperation with BBC Studios.

Investing in both businesses in 2021 and 2022, Deezer remained a minority shareholder in Driift and became a majority shareholder in Dreamstage, prior to the latest transaction. The latest development sees Deezer become the largest shareholder of Driift, bringing its total investment this year to around $7m.

“Through Deezer’s investment, we are confident that our upward trajectory will accelerate”

“As the home of music, this is a milestone moment for Deezer,” says Deezer CEO Jeronimo Folgueira. “Connecting artists and fans through engaging experiences is an essential part of our growth strategy, and adding livestreaming capabilities to our portfolio is a key component to deliver on this ambition.

“Driift has already built an unparalleled reputation for bringing groundbreaking livestreams to music fans all over the world, and we consider that the addition of Dreamstage’s tech and sales platform will take the business to the next level. We have full confidence in the Driift team to deliver fantastic results.”

Salmon says Driift has now secured sufficient funds to execute on its business plan and accelerate growth.

“Through Deezer’s investment, we are confident that our upward trajectory will accelerate,” he adds. “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.”

Current Driift co-owners ATC Management and Beggars Group will remain significant shareholders in the newly merged entity, with ATC holding two of the five board seats.

 


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