Vinyl Group has made a move on its third acquisition in the space of two months, entering into an agreement to takeover the assets of London-based Serenade, a pioneer in the Web3 space for physical and digital collectibles.

Serenade's digital marketplace has served over 200 global artists, including Liam and Noel Gallagher, Muse, Sum 41, Twenty One Pilots, and Thirty Seconds to Mars. The deal, which was finalised over the weekend, saw Vinyl Group acquire the assets of Serenade in exchange for $800,000 in shares, with a further $1.5M in shares to be paid based on P&L targets.

Serenade's NFC-enabled Smart Formats have seen a significant growth of 56% MoM since their launch in January 2024, with a total of 12,000 units sold in H1 2024. The company has also established commercial partnerships with over 100 record labels, including Warner Music Group, Beggars Group, Concord, Glassnote, FUGA, and PIAS.

The Serenade acquisition will see the firm operate alongside the Vinyl.com brand, with the aim of improving the gross margins of the music and media company's fastest-growing division. Key Serenade employees, including CEO Max Shand, will join Vinyl Group as part of the deal.

"Max Shand has built Serenade into a business with significant potential, and through our acquisition of the platform, we’ll put the resources into Serenade to allow it to reach that potential. Vinyl Group is, at its core, a tech business and this was a great opportunity to expand our tech offering. We look forward to welcoming Max and other key members of the Serenade team to Vinyl Group," said CEO of Vinyl Group, Josh Simons.

"I’m thrilled to announce the acquisition of Serenade by Vinyl Group, Australia’s only ASX-listed music company. From our very first conversation, it was clear that Josh, Jorge, and the Board shared our vision for supporting artists and audiences through outstanding music products, and so I'm excited to see how this partnership accelerates our impact. I also want to acknowledge the incredible Serenade team, whose passion, integrity, talent, and dedication made this all possible," said Shand.

Vinyl Group also purchased Serenade’s UK subsidiary for $1.00 with a 1-month put option, aiming to expand the Vinyl.com business into the UK and European markets. The deal includes an agreement for Vinyl Group to cover the verifiable legal and accounting costs of Serenade, capped at $20,000.

It cements a strong M&A strategy from the music and media company, which just last week confirmed the $2.5M acquisition of events and brand activations business Funkified Entertainment. The events business had historically run events of The Brag Media, the music and entertainment publisher Vinyl Group acquired earlier in the year. The group has also since acquired media and marketing trade publication Mediaweek.

According to a presentation on the company's FY2025 H1 Acquisition Strategy, presented by CEO Josh Simons and posted to the ASX this morning, Vinyl Group expects its latest three acquisitions, in addition to organic growth across the group, to contribute towards a doubling of company revenue run rate by the end of the current financial year, from $10.5 million to upwards of $20 million.

"Mediaweek and Funkified directly target opportunities following the comprehensive review of our growing media business, while the third, Serenade, bolsters our music-tech bonafides into the blockchain space while expanding the capabilities and offerings of our Vinyl.com e-commerce store," outlined the presentation.