Create Music Group Completes $450M Fundraise at $2.2B Valuation

The company remains majority-owned by its founders, with institutional investors Ares Management, 2 Mile, and Flexpoint Ford each holding minority stakes.

Published on Mar. 4, 2026

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Create Music Group, a digitally native music, media and technology platform, has announced the successful completion of its latest funding round, valuing the company at $2.2 billion and securing over $450 million of new equity and debt capital to support its continued expansion. The financing round also included expanded bank group support, with Truist Securities and Banc of California serving as Joint Lead Arrangers.

Why it matters

This milestone comes on the heels of Create's strategic investment in Nettwerk Music Group, a transaction totaling more than $300 million that strengthens the company's portfolio with one of the world's most respected independent recording and publishing companies. The partnership with Nettwerk, home to iconic artists like Vacations, Sarah McLachlan, SYML, Paris Paloma, Passenger and Old Crow Medicine Show, exemplifies Create's strategy of backing culturally defining labels and entrepreneurs and helping them build even more substantial businesses on top of the Create platform.

The details

The company remains majority-owned by its founders, with institutional investors Ares Management, 2 Mile, and Flexpoint Ford each holding minority stakes. The financing round also included expanded bank group support, with Truist Securities and Banc of California serving as Joint Lead Arrangers. This capital will not only accelerate Create's roadmap, expanding its footprint in media, IP and technology, but also empower its partners to build generational businesses that redefine culture and value creation across the global entertainment ecosystem.

  • Create Music Group was founded in 2015.
  • Over the past 12 months, the company has invested more than $500 million across acquisitions, advances and other growth initiatives.

The players

Create Music Group

A digitally native music, media and technology platform that has evolved into one of the industry's most active owner-operators of culturally influential labels, catalogs and creative businesses.

Ares Management

An institutional investor that holds a minority stake in Create Music Group.

2 Mile

An institutional investor that holds a minority stake in Create Music Group.

Flexpoint Ford

An institutional investor that holds a minority stake in Create Music Group.

Nettwerk Music Group

A respected independent recording and publishing company that Create Music Group has strategically invested in, in a transaction totaling more than $300 million.

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What they’re saying

“At a time when the future of media, technology, and creative ownership is being rewritten, we've become the definitive platform for the music and media industries' most visionary entrepreneurs.”

— Jonathan Strauss, Co-founder and CEO, Create Music Group (PR Newswire)

“The music industry is as dynamic as it has ever been, with rapid growth in new consumption channels and means of creation, which is creating vast opportunities for agile, digital-first companies to reshape the status quo. In that context, this fundraise is an exciting milestone for Create and the product of a lot of hard work from our entire team over many years.”

— Will Smith, Chief Financial Officer, Create Music Group (PR Newswire)

What’s next

The newly raised capital will support continued acquisitions, strategic investments, technology development and global expansion – reinforcing Create's long-term commitment to building the industry-defining platform for the world's leading music businesses and entrepreneurs.

The takeaway

Create Music Group's successful $450 million fundraise and $2.2 billion valuation demonstrates the company's ability to partner with leading independent labels and creative entrepreneurs, empowering them to build substantial businesses that redefine the global entertainment ecosystem.