If you ever needed to know the lyrics of your favorite rap song, you probably have been to the popular Genius site.
While there are plenty of sites that share song lyrics, this platform’s team of Hip-Hop nerds breaks down the meanings behind hits from complicated thinkers like André 3000, Tyler, the Creator, and D Smoke and gives context for street slang from artists like Migos, Pop Smoke and Kash Doll.
Now, the music-annotating startup Genius Media Group Inc has sold its assets for $80 million to MediaLab.Ai Inc., a Santa Monica,
California-based media holding company.
According to Bloomberg, the sale price was less than the total amount the company raised since its inception in 2009.
With the sale to the larger company, a lot of people were let go.
In a statement, the new owners said, “We are restructuring the way in which original content is produced at Genius and as part of that some very talented individuals on the content and production teams were let go.”
Despite the staff being let go, Genius execs believe that this is a good move.
Tom Lehman, co-founder, and chief executive officer of Genius said, “MediaLab’s commitment to investing in artists and fan-driven communities makes them the ideal partner to propel Genius forward. We are immensely grateful to everyone who has made Genius what it is today.”
Genius will be joining others in MediaLab’s portfolio like Worldstarhiphop, Kik, Whisper, and DatPiff.
The new buyer sees a large future for the company, adding in the statement, “The scale of the community platform is what attracted us to Genius and this is where we will be heavily investing going forward, with a renewed focus on emerging artists.”
For more one the sale, click here.