As part of the company’s bankruptcy proceedings, SFX has released some detailed financial documents, and they’re far more telling than we could have imagined. The company was expected to earn $60 to $70 million in 2015, but in reality, they posted a loss of $18 million. After such a destructive year, SFX projected a negative cash balance of $29.9 million in January 2016, and $33.1 million by March. It’s no wonder they swiftly filed under Chapter 11.
SFX has officially fallen, and the industry giant has taken our beloved Beatport with it. From missing artist royalty payments, to broken deals with Spotify, the horrendous handling by SFX is deserving of its own soap opera, and now we have the financials to prove just how bad they screwed up.
Due to its mismanagement by SFX, Beatport has reported a loss of $5.5 million. Salaries and general expenses rose from $11.2 million in 2014 to $18.5 million in 2015, with revenue dropping from $46.5 million to $39.1 million.
Purchased for $50 million in 2013, Beatport was once hailed to be the star of SFX’s business model, “the all-in-one hub for everything EMC [electronic music culture].” While this was true at one point, incompetent management has pushed the company irrevocably farther from this ideal.
Until Beatport can free itself from the grotesque mess of SFX, the company’s future doesn’t bode well.
