Etsy is selling Reverb to two investment firms, Creator Partners and Servco. After separating from Etsy, the Reverb music-gear marketplace will no longer be part of a public company. Etsy had acquired Reverb in 2019.
In its filing with the SEC, Etsy wrote today (April 22, 2025), “Etsy has decided to divest Reverb from its portfolio to focus on driving growth in the core Etsy marketplace, as well as its subsidiary Depop. The transaction is currently expected to close in the coming months.”
In a press release on Reverb today, the marketplace said once the deal closes, Reverb will be a privately-held, independently operated company backed by two investors that share Reverb’s experience in the music industry and focus on supporting musicians, and described the investors as follows:
- “Creator Partners is an investment company currently investing in music companies including BMI, SoundCloud, Color Studios and Mogul.”
- “Servco has been involved in the musical instrument industry since 1937, including a long history with Fender—first as a dealer of Fender music gear in the 1950s, then as part of the group that bought the company from CBS in 1985 and now as the majority owner of the company, as well as an active investor in other musical instruments businesses.”
Reverb CEO David Mandelbrot was quoted in the press release: “Creator Partners and Servco share our passion for the musical instruments industry and a community-first approach, plus a deep desire to strengthen creative industries. The musicians, shops, and brands who use Reverb have always been at the center of all that we do, and these two partners will help us support our music-making community in new and better ways.”
He also said buyers and sellers would not notice any disruption as a result of the news, “but he does expect the Reverb community to notice positive changes and new innovations in the coming months as the team continues to focus on making Reverb the best place to buy and sell music gear.”
Among the changes sellers can expect Reverb to make include the following:
- expanding access to music-making software on Reverb;
- piloting a new option for selling that allows musicians to get paid faster, while skipping the listing and shipping process;
- improving search functionality;
- making it easier to ship;
- shortening the time it takes to resolve support issues.
“All and all, there’s a lot for our community to look forward to and I’m very excited about what’s coming as we move forward as an independent company again,” Mandelbrot said.
Reverb founder David Kalt had said in 2019 when he sold the marketplace to Etsy, “With Etsy as our parent company, we’ll remain the marketplace built for the music community by a team of musicians and music lovers. Your ability to buy, sell, learn, and connect on Reverb will not change. At the same time, we’ll have added resources to continue growing and improving the Reverb community. Think of it like going to see your all-time favorite band and getting a surprise sit-in from another musician you admire.” Kalt is now CEO of PangoBooks, “leading Peer to Peer Used Book Marketplace helping millions of individuals buy and sell their books affordably and easily.”
Reverb also posted a letter from its CEO today.