Fidel.ru

Fidel.ru (Fidel solyushns LLC, Fidel Solutions)  is the Russian online store selling music. Fidel.ru and Soundkey  — two largest musical shops in Runet, are the share of them up to 70 % of legal sales of music online, the analyst of iKS-Consulting Elena Krylova estimates.

Shareholders

As far as we know CNews, for May, 2011 service in equal shares belonged to four investors - individuals, one of which — the CEO Boris Golikov, and three others do not take part in operational management by the company^[1].

Earlier it was reported that the owner (data of the USRLE)  — "Timmeyt of tapes of building" (The British Virgin Islands, 100 %).

Management

Boris Golikov  is a CEO and the co-owner.

Performance Indicators

2011

For May, 2011 about 250 thousand use the portal human.

2009

The guaranteed payments of Fidel.ru to Universal Music and Sony Music will make  400,000 US dollars in 2009, Golikov reported; just so many website earned in  2008. In 2009 its income will grow, according to Golikov's forecast, to 18  million rubles (570,200 US dollars at a yesterday's rate), and in  2010  — to 34  million rubles ( 1.08 million US dollars). Now 70 % of revenue of Fidel.ru are brought by partners, Golikov continues: through show-windows of this shop Sibirtelecom and ER-Telecom sell music, there are also negotiations with Akado and Uralsvyazinform.

In  August, 2009 Vladislav Kochetkov from Finam estimated the cost of Fidel.ru without investments into  2 — 2.5 million US dollars.

2008

Revenue (2008, data of the company) — about 0.4 million US dollars.

History

The platform of sales of legal digital content Fidel.ru was opened by Fidel Solutions company in 2007.

2008: Transaction with RBC

Announced purchase of a controlling stake of Fidel.ru of RBC in the winter  of 2008. Under the terms of the agreement of RBC within three years could increase a packet to 75 %. The child structure of RBC  — Media of the worlds had to manage this asset. Transaction amount was $ 8.5 million, it included obligations for financing of Fidel.ru and for advertizing of the project on the websites of RBC, Boris Golikov told.

2009: RBC was returned by Fidel.ru to former owners

The Fidel.ru online store does not belong to RBC any more. His CEO and the co-owner Boris Golikov told Vedomosti about it. According to Golikov, process of return of actions to former owners of Fidel.ru began in 2008, and came to the end with summer of 2009.

Because of crisis of RBC could not finance this project according to the plan and therefore, according to Golikov, transferred the packet in Fidel.ru to group of investors led by him.

In  August, 2009 Vladislav Kochetkov from Finam estimated the cost of Fidel.ru without investments into $ 2-2.5 million. But RBC returned this service to former owners free of charge, approves the source close to participants of the transaction.

2011: Paid and free online services

• Since the beginning of 2011 service gives to the subscribers the chance to listen to audio-tracks online on a paid basis.

• On May 23, 2011 Fidel.ru made access to the content free. Free access to the Fidel.ru directory is implemented in the form of the tariff plan "Open". At a zero subscription fee it is authorized to users of this rate to listen to all musical content of the portal, and there are no restrictions for quantity of available tracks.

However, users - "besplatnik" will be deprived of interesting paid options using which it is possible to synchronize playlists on the Fidel.ru portal and on own iPhones and iPads of users (in the long term developers of service promise support of devices on platforms Android, S60 and Windows Phone 7).

The CEO of Fidel Solutions Boris Golikov told CNews^[1]that Open a rate is not the short-term stock of content service, according to it, it "is entered forever". Golikov reported that for May, 2011 about 250 thousand people use the portal, and all of them are attracted during an era "before introduction of a free rate". According to Golikov if for free music service of 250 thousand users is a little, "that for monetized is very decently".

It is interesting that though at plans of the management of Fidel Solutions there is monetization of "free" subscribers of service on advertizing model, according to Boris Golikov, they will be saved from advertizing demonstration, at least, until the end of 2011.

Besides, in Fidel Solutions calculate that a part of the attracted users of Open of a rate will begin to use paid opportunities of service over time.

As reference point for Fidel serves service " Yandex.music " which provides free legal audiocontent, since 2010 Boris Golikov says that he in the long term would like that Fidel.ru was equal in popularity to " Yandex.music " which, according to her head Denis Tanayev provides "more than 100 million listenings a month" now.

As well as the free Fidel segment, " Yandex.music " is monetized due to advertizing, and, by Denis Tanayev's recognition, to speak about its payback early: on service test advertizing placements are now carried out.

Sale of legal music to end users is not the main business of Fidel and its competitor of Soundkey. According to Elena Krylova, broadcast of the intellectual property rights received at the owner to smaller content providers is an essential part of their revenue. According to her, in 2008-2009 Fidel and Soundkey together occupied not less than 70% of this market in Russia. Fidel confirms existence of a large B2B-segment in revenue, however do not reveal its sizes and names of the partners.

2012: Project closure

The Fidel.ru project owning the legal digital directory from several million music tracks was closed in the spring of 2012 after six years of existence because of bad payback. Now the Fidel Solutions company which developed this service prepares the new Tracksflow.com project in which it will use new models of cooperation with owners.

Fidel.ru differed in the fact that signed with the first in the CIS the contract with Universal Music record company, and further and with all other majors. Traffic on the portal reached 120 thousand unique visitors a day. Nevertheless the company did not manage even to approach payback of the project.

According to the head of Fidel Solutions, under the terms of the agreement owners want at least 50% of revenue of service for the neighboring rights and another 10-12% - for copyright. The company spends 3-5% of revenue for billing.

Notes