Mood Media Corporation is an international in-store provider of

music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

digital signage Digital signage is a segment of electronic signage that uses Electronic visual display, digital display technologies to present multimedia content in both public and private environments. Content may include video, images, text, or interactive me ...

, hold music, on-hold messaging,

scent An odor (American English) or odour (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) is a smell or a scent caused by one or more volatilized ...

, integrated audio/video, and interactive

mobile marketing Mobile marketing is a multi-channel Online advertising, online marketing technique focused at reaching a specific audience on their smartphones, feature phones, Tablet computer, tablets, or any other related devices through websites, e-mail, SMS ...

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

Austin Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...

, 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 continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, 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.,

Muzak Muzak is an American brand of background music played in retail stores and other public establishments owned by Mood Media. The name ''Muzak'', a blend of music and the popular camera brand name Kodak, has been in use since 1934 and has been ...

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

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

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 exchange 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 ...

s, 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, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

, 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 asset management firm that primarily invests in alternative assets. , the company had $548 billion of assets under management, including $392 billion invested in credit, including mezzanine capita ...

and GSO Capital Partners. 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 deb ...

, with the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

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 in San Diego, California, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781. The climate is mild, with an average daily temperature o ...

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 ) is a measure of a company's profitability of the operating business only, thus before any effects of indebtedness, state-mandat ...

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

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Buffalo Grove, Illinois,

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

, and Essex, United Kingdom.

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 legal people, whether Natural person, natural, Juridical person, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members ...

Muzak Holdings 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 large indoor shopping center, usually anchored by department stores. The term ''mall'' originally meant a pedestrian promenade with shops along it, but in the late 1960s, it began to be used as a generi ...

, restaurants, 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 AEI Music Network Inc. 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, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...

Burberry Burberry Group plc is a British luxury fashion house established in 1856 by Thomas Burberry and headquartered in London, England. It designs and distributes ready to wear, including trench coats, leather accessories, and footwear. It is l ...

, and

Whole Foods Market Whole Foods Market, Inc. (colloquially referred to as simply Whole Foods) is an American multinational supermarket chain store, chain headquartered in Austin, Texas, which sells products free from Hydrogenated fat, hydrogenated fats and artificia ...

. 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 installations for

corporate A corporation or body corporate is an individual or a group of people, such as an association or company, that has been authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law as "born out of s ...

and commercial clients. Operating in Belgium,

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

and the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, 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 Co. (A&F) is an American lifestyle store, lifestyle retailer, founded in 1892 which focuses on contemporary clothing targeting customers in their early 20's to mid 40's. Headquartered in New Albany, Ohio, the company operate ...

, the Hard Rock Café, and

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

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 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

External links

* {{official 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 that have filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy Companies formerly listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange Companies based in Austin, Texas