Apple has reportedly acquired U.K.-based music creative services and artist development company Platoon.
The company has history with Apple, being co-founded by former Apple live events and artist relations exec Denzyl Feigelson. Described as “a platform for fearless creatives,” Platoon has helped develop a number of early stage artists in the U.S. and UK since launching in 2016.
These artists include the likes of Billie Eilish, who went on to join Interscope in 2017, Stefflon Don, who signed with Universal, Jorja Smith, who signed with Sony. The firm offers artists a range of video, audio and marketing services.
News of the acquisition was broken by Music Business Week, which has followed the company closely since its inception. A previous article about the firm noted that:
“[Denzyl Feigelson] is well-known to the UK music industry, having been an integral part of Apple’s international music strategy – not to mention the 10-year iTunes Festival – for over a decade as a special advisor to the Cupertino giant. He was a close confidant to the Steve Jobs circle throughout Apple’s third golden age: from the iPod through the iPhone, the iPad, iTunes and into the beginnings of what would become Apple Music.”
Platoon will reportedly continue offering support to artists, including tour support, original content, social media marketing and global expansion strategies.
Interestingly, a recent report suggested that Apple Music is moving away from exclusive artist deals, which may have been one big thing to come out of this deal.
However, a source close to the company told MBW: “The Apple deal gives Platoon the backing and resources to accomplish its vision and continue its goal to develop original music and visual content – while leaving artists free to sign with who they want and distribute their music where they want.”
It will be interesting to see how Apple uses the firm’s prowess to further grow Apple Music. Apple Music currently has a reported 56 million subscribers, putting it second only to Spotify.
