France-headquartered digital music company Believe has announced that it’s taking full ownership of Doğan Music Company (DMC) – which Believe calls Turkey’s largest independent label – after securing regulatory approval for the deal.
Believe says the move will cement its position as a leader in the Turkish market. DMC boasts a roster of many of the top artists in Turkey, including Simge, whose Aşkın Olayım was the most streamed song on Spotify in Turkey in 2023, and Semicenk, who was the overall most-streamed artist in Turkey last year.
“The Turkish music industry has undergone a massive change since Believe’s launch in the market back in 2012, with a solid growth of streaming and countless artists and labels reaching new and wider audiences both locally and beyond,” said Viktoria Siniavskaia, Believe’s President META, East & Southern Europe, Americas.
“On Spotify alone, the Top 100 list went from 11 local artists in 2013 to 91 in 2023! I couldn’t be prouder of Believe having been a key driver in this evolution, alongside DMC and our digital partners, boosting the digitalization of the market and that of local music genres.”
Believe initially took a 60% stake in DMC in 2020 for €18.8 million (net of €1.6 million cash acquired), and in August of this year, it announced it was planning to exercise a call option to buy the remaining 40%.
The company disclosed it would be paying €38.3 million (approx USD $41.8 million at the exchange rate at the time) for the stake.
“The Turkish music industry has undergone a massive change since Believe’s launch in the market back in 2012, with a solid growth of streaming and countless artists and labels reaching new and wider audiences both locally and beyond.”
Viktoria Siniavskaia, Believe
“This is an incredibly exciting new step for all the talented artists and labels that we represent, who will now fully benefit from Believe’s best-in-class digital expertise, partnerships with top services providers and global footprint,” DMC CEO Samsun Demir said.
“This acquisition marks a new step for the Turkish music industry as a whole, one that will undoubtedly supercharge the rise of new local artists and labels and allow for the dynamism and richness of Turkey’s music scenes to reach new audiences and heights around the world.”
The full acquisition of DMC comes a few months after Believe announced it’s taking a 25% stake in Global Records, a Romania-headquartered indie label that also has offices in Germany and the US. The company is believed to be the biggest indie music company in Central and Eastern Europe.
Those deals are among the first for Believe since its founder and CEO, Denis Ladegaillerie, took near-total control of the company as part of a consortium with EQT and TCV. As of July, the consortium held 96% of Believe’s share capital.
“This acquisition marks a new step for the Turkish music industry as a whole, one that will undoubtedly supercharge the rise of new local artists and labels…”
Samsun Demir, Doğan Music Company
In an interview with MBW in June, Ladegaillerie made it clear that he plans to continue Believe’s global expansion, particularly into major music markets.
“The No.1 element of our acquisition strategy today is in the Top 10 markets. We want to become a No.1 player in those markets. We are already the largest player [on local repertoire] in France; the third largest player in Germany; the largest player in India; the third largest player in Japan. We want to do more. The US, UK, and Japan are all key priorities for us,” Ladegaillerie said.
“At the same time, we will continue making very qualitative, targeted acquisitions across [smaller] markets as you’ve seen recently in Turkey, the Philippines, and elsewhere.”
Among the most notable acquisitions for Believe in recent years were French indie label Jo&Co, German indie distributor Groove Attack, a minority stake in Philippines-based Viva Music and Artists Group (VMAG), and Indian labels Think Music and Venus Music (now Ishtar). The company also acquired what it called a “Punjabi powerhouse” catalog from India-based White Hill Music.
Last year, Believe expanded into music publishing with its acquisition of UK-born Sentric.Music Business Worldwide
