Manchester-based MusicForPets – described as the Netflix for pets or ‘Petflix’ – has been acquired by US tech giant Create Music Group.
Amman Ahmed founded MusicForPets in 2017 along with Ricardo Henriquez and it is now used by more than 50 million pets worldwide.
Jonathan Strauss, founder and CEO of Create Music Group, said: “Amman and Ricardo have tapped into an enormous and surprising new audience for music and entertainment, our family pets.
“They have built MusicForPets into a beloved brand that reaches an audience of millions across multiple DSPs all over the world.
“The MusicForPets platform fits perfectly into our business model as we continue to reinvent what it means to be a modern music company by building and investing into entertainment businesses that have a direct meaningful relationship with their audience and fans and have complete ownership of all IP.
“This market is massive and there is a reason that Amman and Ricardo’s company has been nicknamed ‘Petflix.’”
Ahmed started the company with just £750 of his own savings.
His business partner, Henriquez, inspired by his own dog’s anxiety due to the violent noises in his neighbourhood in El Salvador, began composing music specifically designed to soothe pets.
This unique approach to pet care quickly gained traction, and their original music has since become a favorite companion for pets and their owners on Youtube, Spotify, and other digital service providers (DSPs) around the world.
The company’s research shows that 87 per cent of dog owners report that their pets are less stressed after being exposed to Relax My Dog’s content.
MusicForPets received the coveted YouTube Gold Creator Award after racking up over a million subscribers on the streaming platform.
Ahmed said: “We hear from pet owners all over the world that Relax My Dog and Relax My Cat have made a huge positive impact on their pets’ overall emotional health.
“Our mission is to make the world’s pets happier, and we’re excited to take this next step with Create Music Group.
“Create has built an unparalleled distribution network for music and entertainment, including a network of owned brands on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok that will give our music a huge opportunity to be heard by even more pets and their owners around the world.
“We’re thrilled to be working with Jonathan, Alexandre (Williams) and Wayne (Hampton) as we chart the next phase of growth for MusicForPets.”
Create Music Group plans on investing an additional $10m (£7.87m) to further expand their reach and impact on pets and their owners globally over the next 36 months.
Jeremy Tracey of Casini Corporate Finance acted as exclusive financial advisor to MusicForPets on the transaction.
Ryan Brown and Bethany Grummitt of Browne Jacobson provided legal advice to MusicForPets.
Alastair Peet and Mandip Riar of Shoosmiths acted as legal counsel to Create Music Group.
Established in 2015, Create Music Group is a leading music and entertainment company.
The company operates as a record label, distribution company, and entertainment network which generates over 15 billion music streams each month on DSP’s.
Create Music Group works with superstar artists, major and independent record labels, and global media brands.
Create Music Group is based in Hollywood, California and has 350 employees worldwide.