Los Angeles-based Pex, an audio content material identification platform that tracks and analyzes copyrighted content material on digital providers, has been acquired.
Based in 2014 by Rasty Turek, Pex’s new proprietor is an organization known as Vobile, which affords digital content material safety and transaction providers for leisure corporations, platforms, sports activities leagues, music labels, and publishers.
Vobile has confirmed that Pex COO Amadea Choplin has joined the corporate as Head of Music Enterprise, whereas founder Rasty Turek, previously CEO, will act as a advisor to Vobile going ahead.
The phrases of the deal weren’t disclosed.
The Vobile Group was launched in 2005 and operates globally, within the US, Europe, Asia, and Australia, however has traded on the Hong Kong Inventory Alternate since 2018. The corporate has a market cap worth of HKD 7.73 billion, which converts to round USD $997 million.
Outdoors of music, Vobile works with Hollywood movie studios and TV networks together with Warner Bros Discovery, Paramount, Disney and NBC Common.
Pex’s expertise screens social networks worldwide – in addition to platforms which depend on UGC content material (like TikTok and so on) – to weed out music and movie content material that belongs to rightsholders.
Pex’s tech is utilized by music distributors, publishers, assortment societies, manufacturers, and platforms. The corporate claims on its web site that its software program is able to processing 10,000 hours of content material per minute and has collected and listed 25 billion songs and movies.
Pex says that its music registry consists of over 100 million recordings, together with the Sony, Common, and Warner catalogs.
The corporate says that its AI-powered ‘ACR expertise’ was educated on user-generated content material and may establish content material “from velocity and pitch modifications to remixes, cowl variations, and reside performances [and] modified audio”
Final February, a research from Pex estimated that greater than a 3rd (38.03%) of all songs discovered on TikTok had been velocity or pitch-modified in 2023.
In accordance with Vobile, the acquisition “enhances” its personal providers for the music business and “strengthens its place as the worldwide answer supplier for digital audio and video content material safety and monetization”.
Pex is claimed to be a “international chief in content material identification expertise and UGC knowledge”.
The acquisition arrives 4 years after Pex secured a $57 million funding spherical, with participation from Tencent, Tencent Music Leisure, the CueBall Group, NexGen Ventures Companions, Amaranthine, and others.
In 2020, Pex acquired Dubset Media Holdings in a buyout price $25 million-plus.
“Becoming a member of Vobile marks an thrilling new chapter.”
Amadea Choplin, Pex
Amadea Choplin, Chief Working Officer at Pex, mentioned: “Becoming a member of Vobile marks an thrilling new chapter. Collectively at Vobile, we are able to make an excellent higher affect for our shoppers.”
“By integrating Pex’s superior audio applied sciences, we’re increasing our service capabilities to satisfy the rising wants of rightsholders, particularly as generative AI reshapes the way forward for creativity.”
Yangbin Wang, Vobile
Commenting on the deal, Yangbin Wang, Chairman and CEO of Vobile, mentioned: “Vobile has been on the forefront of serving to international leisure corporations to guard and monetize their content material in a quickly evolving digital panorama.
“By integrating Pex’s superior audio applied sciences, we’re increasing our service capabilities to satisfy the rising wants of rightsholders, particularly as generative AI reshapes the way forward for creativity.”Music Enterprise Worldwide
