Triller Over $23 Million Behind on Payments to Music Rightsholders
Turns out the buzzy short-video service Triller may not be the next big thing after all, as it is far behind on payments to music rights holders, and a long way from making a profit.
What’s going on? As the social-media startup tries to go public, a recent financial disclosure shows the company in trouble. First reported by Music Business Worldwide, the documents show Triller already owes rights holders and vendors millions — and doesn’t have the cash to pay up.
Bleak numbers: The company's outstanding payment obligations were $23.6 million in late 2023. That may not necessarily be a problem, but Triller only generated $33.6 million revenue for the first three quarters of the year, taking a loss of $84.4 million on operating income and a net loss north of $134 million. Still, the declarations say Triller is committed to its IPO plans, aiming for a “direct listing” on the NYSE “on or about 2024.” Needless to say, there’s more to the story.
Added context: Triller has so far raised (or wasted) $420 million from investors, based on an early buzz that stemmed from what seemed like a large audience. But, the company recently purged “in excess of 200 million” bot accounts, making that audience estimate seem suspect.
As of the late 2023 filing, it only had $967,000 of cash on hand, with millions owed to “music licensing counterparties,” as well as “other parties and vendors, including but not limited to those providing us with engineering, marketing and legal services.” Triller is now trying to negotiate a payment plan, but the company admits its issues “could impact our ability to obtain financing” – or just operate in general – in the near future.
What they’re saying: “We are not in compliance with the payment obligations of a significant number of our contracts with certain of our counterparties, including with respect to our music licenses,” the company said. “As of September 30, 2023, these outstanding music licensing related payment obligations were $23.6 million. These amounts currently exceed our cash balance.”