Seated co-founders John Griffin (left) and David McKay, who’ve reacquired their company from Sofar Sounds. Photo Credit: Seated
Four years and change after selling to Sofar Sounds, Seated has officially been reacquired by its founders.
Seated co-founder and CEO David McKay, whose ticketing platform says it helps artists “gain fan insights and sell more” concert passes, announced the newly finalized deal in a brief blog post.
According to that message, the repurchase arrived as Somerville, Massachusetts-headquartered Sofar zeroes in “on their amazing global experiences business” under CEO Warren Webster, who came aboard in October 2024.
“Seated has achieved remarkable growth under Sofar Sounds’ ownership these last four years, becoming a vital partner to some of the biggest artists in the world,” Webster said in a statement to DMN. “We’re proud to have been part of that story, and as Sofar focuses on meeting the increasing demand in our communities for live experiences, we’re thrilled that Seated will continue to grow with its founders at the helm.
“At Sofar we are ramping up our efforts to bring even more people together through unforgettable live music experiences in unexpected places, as well as comedy, dance, art, food, wine and more. Our communities around the world are looking for more access to community and culture, and Sofar aims to deliver when it’s needed the most,” the former Atlas Obscura CEO concluded.
Eight-year-old Seated opted against publicly disclosing the transaction’s financials. But it did mention a number of its artist users – among them Ed Sheeran, Brandi Carlile, and Jelly Roll – and tout its operational vision as a standalone entity.
“This re-acquisition gives us the flexibility and focus to go deeper,” McKay summed up. “We’re doubling down on what we do best – building great software for artists to own their ticketing, capture and activate their fan data, and grow meaningful relationships with the people showing up to their shows.”
Of course, at the intersection of ticket-pricing concerns and a growing superfan emphasis, the highlighted objectives are even more relevant now than they were when Sofar bought Seated.
At least from the outside looking in, the process of splitting Seated from Sofar doesn’t appear to have been too involved. Worth reiterating here is that the parties at the time of their February 2021 deal clarified that Seated would “keep operating their services independently.”
On the personnel front, Billboard indicated that McKay will remain at the helm of the once-again-independent company, with CTO and fellow co-founder John Griffin also staying aboard. Per its LinkedIn profile, Seated has between two and 10 employees (with some claiming roles at both the business and Sofar).
In the bigger picture, following recent years’ avalanche of music-space acquisitions, Seated isn’t alone in selling back to its founders and original owners.
Likewise part of the list are ROSTR and Absolute Label Services (which Utopia Music offloaded in February and July 2023, respectively) as well as SoundBetter and Soundtrap (sold by Spotify in October 2021 and June 2023, respectively), to name a few.
Content shared from www.digitalmusicnews.com.