Considering selling one of Ireland's leading music websites...

brenmusic

I am the owner of one of Ireland's leading music websites www.musicscene.ie, and am considering putting it on the market for sale.

Any ideas where I should start?

With over 110K Page Impressions Per Month, and over 65K Unique Users Per Month - it would make a great project for someone to take on, or alternatively, adapting it to a larger entertainment based website.

All feedback welcome.

magic_murph

how is content for the site generated - pulled in from other sites and just composed together or all manually added?

brenmusic

It's a one man band - manually updated over the course of 28 months to become what it is today.

magic_murph

Ok Thanks. Reason for selling?
Does the site actually make money or was it just a hobby up until now - if so good work on getting nice visitor numbers

brenmusic

What originally started out as a hobby, has become a large and extremely popular website which is now taking up a serious amount of my spare time. I work full time in media and this is and always has been a side project. The site generates significant revenue monthly via third party advertising and Google display ads. Thanks for the kind words.

Peterdalkey

Great site and there should be no shortage of takers. I would approach the main entertainment sites and the likes of Distilled Media and the newspapers, IT and Indo. The idea would be to get a dutch auction going as they will not want the other direct competitor to get it.
This kind of internet property is making good money and I would imagine you could expect multiples of annual revenue as a sale price.

brenmusic

Thanks for that Peterdalkey. I actually considered that route first and said to myself that I would get some feedback from Boardsies to see what people think. I appreciate that, and yes, the sales price would need to be a significant amount considering the huge potential this site has with more bodies working behind it. If I can take it to where it is now on my own - 10 people could make a substantial amount of revenue for their company if taken on board. Immediate turnover.

The Apprentice

brenmusic wrote: »

and yes, the sales price would need to be a significant amount considering the huge potential this site has with more .

Unfortunately potential means zippity doo doo when it comes to selling a website, its based on lots of factors ...

Length of operation and ownership
Pagerank
Bounce Rates
Current business model and revenue both current and future
Pageviews - uniques per month both current and future potential to grow
Cost of operating the website - server costs etc

If you have over 12 months of consistent revenue you can achieve maybe 10-12 times revenues but again it depends on the variables are.

The Corinthian

The Apprentice wrote: »

Unfortunately potential means zippity doo doo when it comes to selling a website, its based on lots of factors ...

Well, I wouldn't go quite as far as zippity doo doo, but close enough to it - depends largely on the business case you build for that 'potential'.

@brenmusic; I'd forget that I'm selling a Web site and ask myself to think of it as a business, such as a magazine or corner shop. If someone wants to buy what you've got, they'll be looking to buy a business, not a Web site and thus assess it on how good an investment it is.

For example, does it bring in revenue? How long has it been doing this? How much? How tied into the site are the user-base? What growth has it seen? Or given this is a one man show, what skills will be needed to replace you? What support (staying on-board for a few months after the sale, documentation, etc) are you offering to the new owner?

Flippa is not a bad place to get an idea on the sort of things one would need to be able to offer if you wanted to sell, or even the sort of price you could expect. You could also sell using Flippa, if you wanted, but I can't recommend for or against this option.

ironclaw

Did a quick check on the site as it caught my eye. Few things..

• Its a standard WordPress site, running a fairly standard theme (Newscast)
  
• It has a serious amount of ads which to me is off putting. I count about 13 different ad providers.
  
• Googling "MusicScene.ie" and for the link "MusicScene.ie" generated practically no hits.

Whats your Google analytics like? Can you post a screen shot?

3sixty

brenmusic wrote: »

I am the owner of one of Ireland's leading music websites www.musicscene.ie, and am considering putting it on the market for sale.

Any ideas where I should start?

With over 110K Page Impressions Per Month, and over 65K Unique Users Per Month - it would make a great project for someone to take on, or alternatively, adapting it to a larger entertainment based website.

All feedback welcome.

Someone suggested selling it to the indo or distilled media ?

If distilled media or the indo wanted a music site they could have a music site up and running like yours within a week. They could also quadruple those vistors numbers quite easily.

Sorry but apart from the facebook fan page I cannot see the value here.

Trojan

The Apprentice wrote: »

Length of operation and ownership
Pagerank
Bounce Rates
Current business model and revenue both current and future
Pageviews - uniques per month both current and future potential to grow
Cost of operating the website - server costs etc

As well as the above (particularly ongoing revenues and ongoing costs), it would be useful to present Google toolbar PageRank, number of pages indexed in Google, number of links in Google, Alexa rank and Compete.com rank. You can also get SEO data from SEOmoz and other sites which could help assist your sale too.

brenmusic

Thanks for all the great feedback and opinions guys. I will take that note on board about "selling a business" rather than "selling a website", I have no doubt that there are some believers in this world, some optimists, and some people who generally don't feel the same way as others about certain products or services, but regardless, I am going to attempt to put this on the market to see if any interest prevails. Excuse me for quoting "potential" previously, that is a word that I'll fit into another chapter further down the line hopefully.

Anyway, to answer a few questions:

1) Length of operation: 28 months.
2) Bounce rate: Significantly high. However, I do find that my users are achieving their goal when reaching my website. Especially when it comes to event listings in Ireland, which is my highest traffic generator.
3) Revenue Year 1: Zero. Revenue Year 2: €14,000+
4) My skills can be learned. Whoever chooses to buy my site will have infinite access to my knowledge of managing the site. Also, all documentation will be provided.
5) Serious amount of ads? Ads are the revenue generator. Nothing too intrusive. And they make the site look good and professional in my opinion.
6) Googling musicscene.ie will direct a user to the site, what is it that you hoped to have been shown here @ironclaw?

My visits to the site are mainly generated from searches such as...

robbie williams aviva 2013
longitude festival marlay park
marquee cork 2013 lineup
neil young rds dublin 2013
eminem slane castle 2013

So on, so forth. Try some for yourself.

Chose some gig examples - search for yourself.

Did Music Scene appear regularly?

I hope so! Thanks.

brenmusic

Google Analytics screenshot of activity to www.musicscene.ie from Mar 1 - Mar 17 2013 (inclusive).

The Apprentice

Na i think you need to define your market a bit more as in your keywords

Those particular searches are all grand and dandy until eminem has come and gone in slane castle and that search will dry up, relatively similar in fashion to a seasonal product. But its only one season ?
You need to be ranking for searches such as, music venues or music dates or alternatives etc (not my area, im not going looking) im sure u can put 2 and 2 together here.
I do believe if your bounce rate is piss poor and high and you think people are finding the information, my belief is that you are wrong in stating this and may need to rethink how people search and perform functions on your site.
Reason for adds so high ?? People running from your site - ? Ive seen it happen

Few comments already mentioned the architecture of the site needs definite tinkering, of which the add space may adjust accordingly and may not be solid, where as conversion on a product sale may be a bit more stable. I personally dont like the site myself visually its too squished and crowded and seems static.

I do believe based on the above information your valuation could be in the region of €20-26k, depending on 3 variables
1. Bounce rate - how high is high ??
2. Cost base - server costs, writers, time effort of either a writer or you put into it every week
3. Cost of redesign (imo it needs it)

Doing more research as a seller might raise the sale stakes on what business model they may pursue and how much traffic based on new keywords could develop the traffic into something better such as an affliate model for "Ticketmaster.ie" or other multiples.. something of this nature may add value to the purchaser.. as it stands thats all i could value it at..

Ps. Dont jump down my throat, if you think 2 years of your life is worth 100k, thats fine... remember the golden rule ?: its not what you think its worth, its what the market deems its worth.. either way best of luck with the sale.
It has potential to be a nice 1 man show.

Gloomtastic!

I just have one question OP. Do you get free tickets/backstage passes to the big gigs? If not, could you? :rolleyes:

It could be the clincher!

A Primal Nut

"musicscene.ie" on google.com does show that website as no.1 with 44.7m results. Just "music scene" on google.ie shows this site as no.1.

messymess

Have you explored the idea of employing someone to look after the site for you whilst still you still take a percentage from it? It might be more profitable in the long run?

KegglesMcS

Musicscene is not one of the Ireland's leading websites!

You could start by getting your facts straight first.

brenmusic

KegglesMcS wrote: »

Musicscene is not one of the Ireland's leading websites!

You could start by getting your facts straight first.

Thanks KegglesMcS, you have just highlighted something I didn't even quote. I said that it is one of Ireland's leading MUSIC websites. Grand.

Regarding the feedback from TheApprentice, all noted. Much appreciated. Exactly, the site is only worth what someone is willing to pay.

I have already taken the idea on board about hiring someone, but unfortunately this is not an option guys.

So the conclusion so far is to maybe approach some of the larger publishers / entertainment sites. Probably the best step to take really.

Will need to draft up a decent proposal now and keep you guys posted.

brenmusic

Gloomtastic! wrote: »

I just have one question OP. Do you get free tickets/backstage passes to the big gigs? If not, could you? :rolleyes:

It could be the clincher!

That's it. You have nailed it Gloomtastic!

Gizmoses

I've been looking for a music domain name for a while now, it's a bonus that it's got a few hits on it.

I'd be interested in taking it off your hands. PM please.

Atomico

I beg you to get rid of that black background. If you do that, prepare to see your bounce rate improve!

RATM

KegglesMcS wrote: »

Musicscene is not one of the Ireland's leading websites!

You could start by getting your facts straight first.

Maybe you might start by not dumping the losses of your failed property deals onto the Irish taxpayer and pissing off to Australia before coming in here and slagging someone off.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056899895

Reamer Fanny

KegglesMcS wrote: »

Musicscene is not one of the Ireland's leading websites!

You could start by getting your facts straight first.

Yeah your post stinks of begrudgery!

Trojan

I'd be concerned with the "time on site" figure and I'd work on increasing that and reducing "bounce rate" significantly.

The site does need a lot of work, but is ranking well. I think the figures that The Apprentice broached are in the right ball park.

But for me, this looks like a keeper, not a seller. Put a bunch of effort into higher quality content, reinvest some of the revenues into the design and site performance, and ramp it up for 12 months.

You could potentially be looking at an order of magnitude difference in value then.

brenmusic

Hi Guys, I shall look forward to our discussion via PM this week Gizmoses. Glad to see some interest.

Regarding the comments from Trojan, I totally understand where you are coming from. However, the reason I am considering the sale is because I cannot forsee myself having the time and funds to take such an approach, hence, why I would like the business to fall into the right hands, and become that value for the next person or people involved.

I quote the following with 110% confidence: with my current stats, Music Scene has already passed by the likes of Goldenplec, Nialler 9, and equalled State.ie traffic within two years, and with more bodies behind it, has a future in becoming the Irish version of NME, with magazine potential too.

All options are going to be explored from this point... Investment, partnership and sale.

All feedback to date, really appreciated.

Could I get examples of sites you guys feel would suit Music Scene from a design perspective please? Well worth noting.

Axwell

You can continue the discussion here, no need to start another thread on the exact same topic...

Big C

bounce rate / time on site is rubbish,
u cud get those figures in two days setting up a website for tractors called bigboobs.com

Atomico

Hey OP,

You need to put some time into researching this for yourself. I can tell you that if your revenue is approx €1,100+ per month from AdSense and other channels, then you could make a tidy sum on the likes of Flippa - you could be talking maybe $30,000 or more even. I have seen sites with similar revenues go for around that amount.

One difference between some of these sites and yours is that it will need to be updated on a regular basis - some of these Flippa sites will run on virtual autopilot (to an extent).

Start with the Flippa blog - excellent info on there. They even had a post on 'how to value a website' fairly recently! Browse their listings and sign up to their newsletter. Research and take your time over it, it may prove quite lucrative for you if you decide to sell it.

dionsiseire

brenmusic wrote: »

I quote the following with 110% confidence: with my current stats, Music Scene has already passed by the likes of Goldenplec, Nialler 9, and equalled State.ie traffic within two years, and with more bodies behind it, has a future in becoming the Irish version of NME, with magazine potential too.

I can't speak for State because I don't run it. But Goldenplec run between 100k - 300k pageviews depending on the month and events of a large size. I don't know if that's 110% confidence but if you're stating that based on the stats i-believe.ie make available about our site. They haven't updated those since we joined their network.

ironclaw

dionsiseire wrote: »

I can't speak for State because I don't run it. But Goldenplec run between 100k - 300k pageviews depending on the month and events of a large size. I don't know if that's 110% confidence but if you're stating that based on the stats i-believe.ie make available about our site. They haven't updated those since we joined their network.

I would tend to agree. From my own perspective as huge consumer of music and DJ, in conjunction with friends in a similar position, Music Scene has never come across my desk while the others quoted have.

I'd double check your stats.

Lostinspace

Hi there,

Definitely have a look at Flippa. Put it up there for a month and see what happens. Though, be prepared to justify the price you want to sell it for. Prospective buyers will need to see revenue generated (if any). Also, maybe no harm looking at joining a few linkedin groups in the music industry and try to promote it there. Worked well for me before.