Beatport has secured new financing led by Square Nine Capital, refinancing an existing credit facility and bringing additional capital into the company, according to Music Business Worldwide's October 5, 2026 report on a Square Nine announcement dated September 30. Beatport and Square Nine did not disclose the size of the investment or its terms.
The deal arrives three months after Matt Gralen became CEO, and it lands as Beatport pushes streaming subscriptions, live events, and its own ticketing product beyond the classic DJ download store.
Who is writing the check?
Square Nine's website says the firm provides debt investments “at or near the top of the capital structure” and does not take control equity stakes, MBW reports. Square Nine said the deal will give Beatport “additional flexibility to invest across its platform, products and broader ecosystem as the company expands its offerings for music creators around the world.” The announcement also named Axar Capital, which MBW identified as Beatport's majority owner in 2022. Configure Partners advised Beatport; Reed Smith LLP and Paul Hastings LLP provided legal counsel to Beatport and Square Nine respectively.
Christopher Brown, a principal at Square Nine, called Beatport “an exceptional business” with “a truly differentiated position within the global music ecosystem.” Griffin Coakley, also a principal, said the firm's strategy centers on partnering with high-quality companies backed by thoughtful sponsors. Gralen said Square Nine shares Beatport's conviction in its “leading position and strategic role” in electronic music.
What has Beatport been building?
Gralen, previously Beatport's president and CFO, succeeded Robb McDaniels as CEO on July 1, 2026, with McDaniels moving to executive chairman after nearly nine years as CEO, MBW reports. According to Beatport, revenue more than quadrupled under McDaniels and its annual customer base passed one million. In a 2025 MBW interview, McDaniels said Beatport saw mid-to-high teens revenue increases in 2024, led by streaming subscription products that grew more than 30% that year.
Beatport's live arm hosted more than 50 Beatport Live events in 2025. In October 2025 it launched Beatport Tickets for dance music events, starting with labels, promoters, and venues in the UK and EU. Square Nine was founded in 2025 by Peter Ma and Nicole Musicco and has a partnership with Liberty Mutual Investments. Ma previously worked in private credit at Morgan Stanley Investment Management; Musicco previously served as CIO of CalPERS, according to coverage cited by MBW.
Why does a DJ-platform refinance matter outside electronic music?
Specialist music platforms are raising structured capital to fund adjacent products: streaming, events, tickets. That is the same pattern AI music companies are chasing when they buy into live discovery, as when Suno hired Ticketmaster's Michael Chua to run Songkick. Beatport's bet is that electronic music's creator base will pay for a stack that runs from stems and downloads to nights out and door tickets.
The missing number is the check size. Until that is public, the signal is directional: Axar keeps the equity story, Square Nine sits near the top of the debt stack, and Gralen has runway to keep investing while major-label peers run cost-cut programs and streaming rate fights grind on in Phonorecords V. For producers who still clear records on Beatport before they clear playlists, the platform's next product cycle is the one that matters.