With a general “return to life” underway as the vaccine roll-out continues we are seeing many behaviors that consumers learned over the past year have carried over due to preference and convenience rather than necessity

The activity across the audio sector in Q1 2021 continues to reinforce our view of the two powerful and fundamental investment themes in the category: we are at the start of a 10+ year investment cycle in music, broadly; and, the re-platforming of the industry to the digital tier that is well underway will introduce greater monetization opportunities on a truly global scale for creators, artists, fans, indie labels, majors, and investors

Q1 2021 was the most active quarter in growth capital and M&A activity in the Proptech market since GCA began tracking the space in 2017

2020 has proven to be a very active year in digital audio with tremendous value creation – DSPs up 42% and Publishers up 32% — with an
acceleration in M&A-led consolidation continuing into 2021

In Q4 2020, M&A deal activity and overall M&A deal value continued its aggressive growth, and private financing activity grew at an accelerating pace. Investors continue to show a strong desire for software business models amidst greater cloud adoption and remote work environments, evidenced by another quarter of favorable performances in public markets

The combination of public e-commerce and marketplace companies grew 68%+ throughout the year and saw a combined market cap  appreciation of $1.3 Trillion in value – stunning value creation

Verifying and authenticating digital identities while managing and preventing ever-increasing online fraud remains a top challenge for businesses. To meet these increasing needs, the identity solution landscape is evolving on both ends of the ecosystem in exciting ways.