Music Business Worldwide

With 550 employees and 40 offices globally, ONErpm remains fully owned by its founder

Music Business Worldwide (MBW) Season 10 Episode 6

On the latest Music Business Worldwide podcast, MBW founder Tim Ingham is joined by Emmanuel Zunz, founder of ONErpm, one of the recorded music industry's most interesting companies and something of a quiet giant.

When it was founded in 2010, ONErpm quickly gained ground in Brazil, where it continues to challenge the major record companies for market share. Since finding success in Brazil, ONErpm has grown all over the planet, offering a range of partnerships to artists, from low-margin DIY distribution to higher-margin full-service deals.

Understood to turn over a substantial nine-figure sum each year, ONErpm is profitable because it has to be: One of the most remarkable things about the company, over and above the fact that it runs more than 40 offices globally, is that Zunz continues to fully own the business.

He's never taken a cent of private equity or venture capital money, and he's rebuffed a number of acquisition approaches from major music companies and other parties.

As he explains on this podcast, Zunz’s ambition is simple — to become the fifth largest record company in the world while maintaining a profitable, sustainable business controlled by its founder…