SFX, the company behind live music behemoths Live Nation, have purchased online music retailer Beatport. 

Under Sillerman’s watch, SFX spent the 1990s merging local gig promoters into an enormous nationwide – and, eventually, international – promotions company. With the backing of US radio giants Clear Channel, SFX’s conglomerate eventually developed into Live Nation, who still rank as the biggest live entertainment company in the world.

Sillerman’s been making noises for a while about wanting to capitalise on EDM’s giddy commercial ascent. The 64 year old has been in talks with 50+ dance-orientated companies across the world, and has previously promised to invest $1bn into acquisitions in the sector. As The New York Times note, he’s scooped a big prize, picking up US-based dance music site Beatport for around $50m.

Beatport has become something of a rallying point for the ever-expanding legions of EDM enthusiasts. Primarily used as a download service, the site also hosts music news, hawks loops and patches through its Sounds To Sample Service, and hosts a popular Top 100 chart. It currently boasts approximately 40 million users.

According to Sillerman, “Beatport gives us direct contact with the D.J.’s and lets us see what’s popular and what’s not. Most important, it gives us a massive platform for everything related to E.D.M.” Beatport CEO Matthew Adell also suggested that the company would use SFX’s clout to move into emerging dance music markets, including India and Brazil.