Mood Media Corporation is an international in-store provider of

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

digital signage Digital signage is a segment of electronic signage. Digital displays use technologies such as LCD, LED, projection and e-paper to display digital images, video, web pages, weather data, restaurant menus, or text. They can be found in public ...

hold music Music on hold (MOH) is the business practice of playing recorded music to fill the silence that would be heard by telephone callers who have been placed on hold. It is especially common in situations involving customer service. Music on hold i ...

on-hold messaging On-hold messaging is a service used by businesses and organizations of all sizes to deliver information to their callers waiting on hold or while they are being transferred. Also called audio marketing, on-hold messaging is a specialist area of ma ...

scent An odor (American English) or odour (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences) is caused by one or more volatilized chemical compounds that are generally found in low concentrations that humans and animals can perceive via their sense ...

, integrated audio/video, and interactive

mobile marketing Mobile marketing is a multi-channel online marketing technique focused at reaching a specific audience on their smartphones, feature phones, tablets, or any other related devices through websites, e-mail, SMS and MMS, social media, or mobile app ...

products. It was founded in 2004, and is based in

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

, Texas. The company provides services to a variety of retailers and other business verticals such as restaurant, financial, healthcare, hospitality and QSR. Mood Media Corporation has expanded its product offerings through acquisitions of Somerset Entertainment in Canada, BIS Group in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, and

Trusonic Mood Media North America (formerly consisting of Muzak, LLC, DMX and Trusonic) is a commercial music company and a wholly owned subsidiary of Mood Media Corporation. Founded in 1999 as a small business unit (SBU) of the now defunct MP3.com, Truson ...

AEI Music Network Inc. DMX, A Mood Media company, is a "Multi-sensory" branding agency based in Austin, Texas. DMX also provides music for cable television, cable and satellite television, satellite television networks worldwide, including DSTV in Africa. It was the ...

Muzak Muzak is an American brand of background music played in retail stores and other public establishments. The name has been in use since 1934, and has been owned by a division or subsidiary of one or another company ever since. In 1981, Westingh ...

, DMX, Technomedia, and GoConvergence in the United States. Malcolm McRoberts is the

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of Mood Media Corporation.

Company history

Mood Media Corporation was founded in 2004, as Fluid Music Canada. It held an initial public offering in June 2008 on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The company offered stock at $2 per share, which subsequently raised $27 million. The company rebranded itself as Mood Media in June 2010, after taking over Europe-based Mood Media Group SA. The company was traded on the Canadian, and European

stock exchanges A stock exchange, securities exchange, or bourse is an exchange where stockbrokers and traders can buy and sell securities, such as shares of stock, bonds and other financial instruments. Stock exchanges may also provide facilities for the i ...

, although it has since been delisted. The company has made a number of acquisitions over the years, expanding its presence across

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

, Latin America and Australia. According to internal reports, the company reaches 100 million people in 500,000 commercial locations in over 40 countries. In 2017, due to years of losses, the company re-structured its

capital structure In corporate finance, capital structure refers to the mix of various forms of external funds, known as capital, used to finance a business. It consists of shareholders' equity, debt (borrowed funds), and preferred stock, and is detailed in the ...

. The deal resulted in the takeover of the formerly public company by

Apollo Global Management Apollo Global Management, Inc. is an American global private-equity firm. It provides investment management and invests in credit, private equity, and real assets. As of March 31, 2022, the company had $512 billion of assets under management, ...

and

GSO Capital Partners Blackstone Credit, formerly known as GSO Capital Partners is an American hedge fund and the credit investment arm of The Blackstone Group. GSO is one of the largest credit-oriented alternative asset managers in the world and a major participant ...

. In October 2017, ARN launched iHeartRadio for business, powered by Mood Media. In July 2020, Mood Media filed for

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

, with the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

a major reason for its financial problems. The company emerged from bankruptcy in less than 24 hours due to the agreement of all stakeholders, strong strategic plan, and stable team.

Acquisitions

Trusonic

Fluid Music Canada, Inc. acquired Trusonic Inc. of

La Jolla, California La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood within the city of San Diego, California, United States, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781. La Jolla is surrounded on ...

on October 17, 2007. Founded in 1999, Trusonic provided commercial music services to companies, and they broadcast over 80 million songs monthly through their proprietary music network. During this period, Mark Elfenbein was the president of Trusonic which became known as Mood Media North America

Somerset Entertainment

Fluid Music Canada, Inc. announced the completion of its acquisition of Somerset Entertainment on November 25, 2009. The acquisition valued Somerset Entertainment at $53.1 million. Somerset is a producer and distributor of recorded music sold through non-traditional retailers. The company has a network of over 28,000 interactive kiosks that allow customers to preview CDs in 18,500 locations in more than 20 countries. In 2007, Somerset sold over 16 million records and recorded revenue of $90.6 million and an

EBITDA A company's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (commonly abbreviated EBITDA, pronounced , , or ) is a measure of a company's profitability of the operating business only, thus before any effects of indebtedness, stat ...

of $20.5 million. Somerset employs over 180 employees and has offices in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

Buffalo Grove, Illinois Buffalo Grove, officially the Village of Buffalo Grove, is a village in Lake and Cook County, Illinois. A suburb of Chicago, it lies about northwest of Downtown Chicago. As of the 2020 Census, Buffalo Grove has a population of 43,212. It tot ...

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

, and

Essex, United Kingdom Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

Muzak

In March 2011, Mood Media acquired the American background

company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of people, whether Natural person, natural, Legal person, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common p ...

Muzak Holdings Muzak is an American brand of background music played in retail stores and other public establishments. The name has been in use since 1934, and has been owned by a division or subsidiary of one or another company ever since. In 1981, Westingh ...

for a reported $345 million. As the leading commercial sound provider in North America, Muzak distributes music for in-store marketing inside

shopping malls A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a North American term for a large indoor shopping center, usually anchored by department stores. The term "mall" originally meant a pedestrian promenade with shops along it (that is, the term was used to refe ...

restaurants A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearanc ...

, and dental offices. In the US alone, Muzak provides background music for more than 300,000 locations, either directly or through a franchise operation. The company had filed for bankruptcy in 2009 and had completed a restructuring prior Mood Media’s acquisition. Revenue for fiscal year 2010 was $195 million. In October 2012, Muzak acquired the assets of one of its major franchisees (Independence Communications Inc.) in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States.

DMX

In March 2012, Mood Media announced the acquisition of DMX and its subsidiary

The deal was valued at $86.1 million. DMX, a US provider of multi-sensory branding services, uses music, video, and digital signage, scent, and audio/visual systems to create branded connections with customers that encourage loyalty. The company has provided its services to large-scale clients, including Gold’s Gym,

McDonald’s McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hamburger st ...

Burberry Burberry is a British luxury fashion house established in 1856 by Thomas Burberry headquartered in London, England. It currently designs and distributes ready to wear, including trench coats (for which it is most famous), leather accessories, ...

, and

Whole Foods Market Whole Foods Market IP, Inc., a subsidiary of Amazon, is an upscale American multinational supermarket chain headquartered in Austin, Texas, which sells products free from hydrogenated fats and artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives. A US ...

. In April 2014, Stingray Digital Group acquired the Canadian assets of DMX Music Inc. from Mood Media for $11.2 million.

BIS Group

In June 2012, Mood Media acquired BIS Group, a company specializing in

audio-visual Audiovisual (AV) is electronic media possessing both a sound and a visual component, such as slide-tape presentations, films, television programs, corporate conferencing, church services, and live theater productions. Audiovisual service prov ...

installations for

corporate A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and re ...

and commercial clients. Operating in Belgium,

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

and the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, this acquisition extends Mood Media’s reach into Europe. The deal consisted of a 22.5 million Euro cash buyout.

Technomedia and GoConvergence

Mood Media acquired Technomedia, along with its sister company, GoConvergence, in December 2012 for $23 million. Based in Orlando, Florida, Technomedia provides audio-visual and interactive media for retail outlets, theme parks, museums, restaurants and corporate settings. Principal clients include

Abercrombie & Fitch Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F) is an American lifestyle retailer that focuses on casual wear. Its headquarters are in New Albany, Ohio. The company operates three other offshoot brands: Abercrombie Kids, Hollister Co., and Gilly Hicks. As of Februar ...

, the

Hard Rock Café Hard Rock Cafe, Inc. is a British-based multinational chain of theme restaurants, memorabilia shops, casinos and museums founded in 1971 by Isaac Tigrett and Peter Morton in London. In 1979, the cafe began covering its walls with rock and r ...

, and

Cirque du Soleil Cirque du Soleil (, ; "Circus of the Sun" or "Sun Circus") is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 Ju ...

South Central A\V

In June 2019, Mood Media acquired the assets of South Central A\V for an undisclosed sum. As the largest independent affiliate of Mood Media with a history dating back to 1946, Nashville-based South Central A\V provides Mood Media products in addition to a variety of high-end audiovisual systems integration services to clients throughout Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Nevada, North Dakota, South Dakota and Tennessee.

PlayNetwork

In September 2021, Mood Media acquired

PlayNetwork PlayNetwork, Inc. is a provider of in-store music and entertainment for retail, restaurant, and hospitality environments. PlayNetwork merged with TouchTunes in May 2017, but in September 2021, TouchTunes sold PlayNetwork to Mood Media. History ...

from its rival retail music distributor TouchTunes.

Business model

Through its various subsidiaries, Mood Media provides audio, visual, multimedia and scent marketing solutions to a diverse range of clients. These include specialty retailers, department stores, supermarkets, financial institutions, and fitness clubs.

References

{{reflist, 2 Entertainment companies established in 2004 2004 establishments in Canada 2006 initial public offerings 2010 mergers and acquisitions American music websites Industrial music services Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2020 Companies formerly listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange Companies based in Austin, Texas