On April 22, music gear marketplace Reverb announced that two new investors—Creator Partners and Servco—have entered an agreement to purchase Reverb from Etsy. Once the deal closes, Reverb will be a privately-held, independently operated company backed by two investors that share Reverb’s experience in the music industry and focus on supporting musicians.
“Creator Partners and Servco share our passion for the musical instruments industry and a community-first approach, plus a deep desire to strengthen creative industries,” said David Mandelbrot, CEO at Reverb. “The musicians, shops, and brands who use Reverb have always been at the center of all that we do, and these two partners will help us support our music-making community in new and better ways.”
Known for their focus on the digital transformation of creative industries, Creator Partners is an investment company currently investing in music companies including BMI, SoundCloud, Color Studios and Mogul.
“Reverb is the #1 global marketplace for musicians, and a one-of-a-kind platform that has transformed access to quality used gear for creators of all levels” said Kerry Trainor, Creator Partners Founder and former CEO of SoundCloud and Vimeo, “We are thrilled to join the Reverb mission to make the world more musical, and grow the entire industry through seamless secondhand commerce.”
Servco has been involved in the musical instrument industry since 1937, including a long history with Fender—first as a dealer of Fender music gear in the 1950s, then as part of the group that bought the company from CBS in 1985 and now as the majority owner of the company, as well as an active investor in other musical instruments businesses.
“We are thrilled and honored to be a part of Reverb’s continued success,” said Executive Chair of Servco, Mark Fukunaga. “For nearly 90 years, Servco has been deeply involved in musical instruments and music education programs. And we remain committed to being good stewards of leading musical instrument companies, like Reverb, and supporting players everywhere in pursuing their passion to create music.”
When the deal closes in the coming months, Reverb will return to being an independent business. According to Mandelbrot, buyers and sellers won’t notice any disruption as a result of this news, but he does expect the Reverb community to notice positive changes and new innovations in the coming months as the team continues to focus on making Reverb the best place to buy and sell music gear.
“We’ve got a lot of exciting changes in the works. We’re expanding access to music-making software on Reverb and we’re getting ready to pilot a new option for selling that allows musicians to get paid faster, while skipping the listing and shipping process. Our teams are working on improving our search functionality, making it easier to ship, and shortening the time it takes to resolve support issues,” said Mandelbrot. “All and all, there’s a lot for our community to look forward to and I’m very excited about what’s coming as we move forward as an independent company again.”
