Songlorious Before Shark Tank
Songlorious is a company that makes customized music based on the preferences and story of the customer. Basically, the customer would go online to the Songlorious website to begin customization. They’ll be asked to choose a desired genre of music, an artist to sing their custom song, and then they’ll have a chance to input their own story. Songlorious has a selection of more than 200 artists that can be chosen from. Once the customization process has been completed, it will take a couple of weeks for the music file to be made. The cost to order a customized song from Songlorious all depends on the length of the song; more specifically, how many lines are in the song. For instance, a song consisting of between 16 and 24 lines will cost about $180, while a song consisting of between 24 and 36 lines will cost about $250.
Omayya Atout is the founder and CEO of Songlorious, along with his wife, co-founder, and the chief artist manager, Ellen Atout. Omayya’s first opportunity in the working world was as an engineering intern for First United General Trading and Contracting Co. He did this internship while he was attending The University of Alabama. When Omayya graduated from university in 2012, he graduated with his Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering. His first job after graduation was with the Norfolk Southern Corporation, where he started as a construction management trainee and worked his way up to becoming the track supervisor. After spending five years at Norfolk Southern Corporation, Omayya resigned and went on to work for Genesse & Wyoming Inc. and Amtrak until 2020, when he started Songlorious.
Ellen Atout is the co-founder and chief artist manager of Songlorious. From 2015 to 2018, Ellen studied to receive her Bachelor of Arts degree from Miami University. During that time, she was also working three jobs. She was a temporary worship director at Turning Point Church, an administrative assistant for the Four Corners Community Church, and a barista at Starbucks. In November of 2019, Ellen switched to working as a full-time barista at Blue Bottle Coffee. She ended up leaving this position in 2020 to work for Songlorious full-time with her husband Omayya.
Music has always been a passion that Omayya and Ellen have shared, especially when the song is able to tell someone’s story. That’s why they started Songlorious in 2020. Starting Songlorious from their own apartment in the Brooklyn area, Omayya and Ellen reached out to various artists and offered them to be a part of this platform. Songlorious has provided a few hundred upcoming independent artists with a job, as well as a platform where they can showcase their talent. Now, they have many artists in genres such as pop, hip-hop, country, and more. Songlorious boosted in popularity once the pandemic hit; news outlets began featuring them. Some of these news channels include 10News, WXII 12 News, The New York Times, Today, and more. Though the pandemic seemed the give this business the kickstart it needed, Omayya and Ellen are seeking funding from a shark in order to expand Songlorious further.
Songlorious on Shark Tank
Husband-and-wife entrepreneurial duo, Omayya and Ellen Atout, appeared on season 13-episode 2 of Shark Tank to pitch their Songlorious music company to the sharks. The Atout’s are seeking a deal for $400,000 in exchange for a 10% equity in Songlorious. During the time of this episode being filmed, the company was valued at about $4 million. The founders begin pitching their business by introducing themselves and telling investors about Songlorious. Before explaining how their company works, Ellen shares a story of how the business got started. She got the idea while she was working on a song for a wedding, which led her to think that many others may be interested in a similar idea. Hence, Songlorious.
Getting into the sales of the company thus far, the founders reveal that they’ve done $700,000 in sales in 2020, as well as $1.1 million in 2021. They’re net profits are at 9%. TheAtout’spredict that their next sales data will reach $2.1 million. This is when the sharks begin making offers. The guest shark, Peter Jones, believes that he can help them expand the business due to his past experiences. With that, Peter offers the founders $400,000 in exchange for a 33.3% equity in Songlorious.Daymond John is impressed with the business, and he would like to make them an offer as well. He offers $400,000 in exchange for a 20% equity.
Ultimately, Mark Cuban, Peter Jones, and Kevin O’Leary decided to partner together and offer the Atout’s $400,000 in exchange for a 33% equity in Songlorious. Meanwhile, Daymond John wants to be included into the partnership, which knocks the offered equity up to 40%. Omayya and Ellen counter the four sharks for an $800,000 funding in exchange for the 40% equity; however, the sharks declined. Due to this, the founders chose to accept the offer with the four sharks anyway.
Songlorious Now in 2024 – The After Shark Tank Update
Songlorious had a successful visit to the Shark Tank and left the stage with a contract with four sharks, Kevin O’Leary, Mark Cuban, Daymond John, and Peter Jones. As of March 2024, there doesn’t appear to be any evidence of the deal between the sharks and Omayya and Ellen Atout closing. Nonetheless, there has been talk of the founders potentially adding new genres to the website, as well as an option for the songs to be sung in Arabic and Spanish. Furthermore, Songlorious has been featured in many new publications such as the Today Show,CNBC, Business Insider, Forbes, and many more. As of the end of 2022, it is believed that Songlorious must have had an estimated sales of about $2.8 million; however, there has not been any confirmation of that.