$80M deal with automaker: Stingray CEO Eric Boyko isn’t afraid of the Chinese

Stingray’s CEO has signed a juicy deal worth close to $80 million with BYD (Build Your Dreams), the world’s largest electric vehicle maker. “Chinese Tesla”, after visiting its California offices.

“There is no technical risk. We play their music. We have developed an Android application. We do not deliver anything. Everything is done online. There is no financial risk,” he explained in an interview Newspaper Eric Boyko, Big Boss and founder of Quebec music distribution company Stingray.

“We have to explain why we pay for karaoke because it’s free in China, but here it takes the rights of the composers and the record company,” he continues.

Without either, you could be sued for $65,000 per song, he explained.

Rock, country, pop, K-pop, J-pop, rap, R&B, holiday music, children’s music… Stingray karaoke blends into BYD vehicles in a dozen languages. For safety reasons we cannot scroll lyrics to sing while driving.

A global giant

BYD is heavy on electric. The Shenzhen-based multinational company has around thirty industrial parks in China, the United States, Canada, Japan, Brazil, Hungary and India. It made $3.9 billion in profits this year on sales of more than $91 billion.

Fifteen years ago, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway invested more than $310 million in BYD.

In 2019, News magazine Transport Canada has reported that giant BYD’s flagship e6 taxi model has been approved.

Stingray’s partnership with BYD comes as US President Joe Biden signed an executive order to limit investments in Chinese technology firms for “national security”.

In recent years, the exclusion of Chinese telecom giant Huawei from the 5G network and the banning of social network TikTok have caused a chill between the countries.

But for Quebec company Stingray, closing a deal with a Chinese automotive giant was a natural. After Audi, Volkswagen, Tesla and the Neo, Stingray believes that BYD, which plans to make four million cars a year, has taken a big hit.

“BYD agreed to the same conditions and the same prices as the other players”, Eric Boyko stated in the interview.

A slight increase in income

Separately, last week, Stingray released its fiscal 2024 first quarter results.

Overall, sales increased slightly by 1.1% from $78.1 million to $79 million compared to the same quarter last year.

Its net income rose $7.7 million, or 50%, to $14.1 million from $9.4 million, due to a “one-time settlement gain related to a dispute over a trademark,” according to the company.