I built a music licensing business from scratch. 8 years later, I sold it.
// OWN PROJECT · 2016–2024 · SOLDLegis Music was a royalty-free music licensing website aimed at the international market. No ad spend, no team, just SEO and content. It reached 9 million visits and €400,000 in revenue before being acquired by a UK company in 2024.
legismusic.com ↗
// The origin
2016. A website, an idea and a lot of content to write.
I launched Legis Music in 2016 on a simple premise: there was demand for royalty-free music among content creators, and little well-ranked supply on Google. The model was straightforward — selling our own licences plus affiliate deals with platforms such as Epidemic Sound, Audiojungle and Soundtrack Your Brand.
The first months were slow. In July 2016 the site had 22 organic clicks. The strategy was a high-volume content blog targeting long tails: guides, comparisons, resource lists. No shortcuts, no PBNs, no tricks. Just useful content published consistently for years.
2016
Legis Music launches. First 22 organic clicks in July.
2017
Steady growth. We close December with 72,000 monthly clicks.
2019
Google algorithm update. Temporary drop and recovery.
2020
All-time peak. 297,000 clicks in May thanks to the COVID effect.
2024
Sold to a UK company. 8 years, 9M visits, €400K in revenue.
// The growth
From 22 clicks a month to 297,000.
// the drop in Feb 2019 matches a Google algorithm update · the Apr–May 2020 peak matches the COVID lockdown
all-time peak
297,000
clicks · May 2020
starting point
22
clicks · July 2016
growth
×13.500
in 4 years
Growth was steady for 4 years. By February 2017 we were past 8,000 monthly clicks. By December that year, 72,000. But the real leap came in 2020: lockdown sent digital content production soaring worldwide, and with it demand for royalty-free music. In April 2020 the site hit its all-time peak: 226,000 clicks in a month. In May, 297,000.
// The numbers
€400,000 in 8 years. Without spending a cent on advertising.
// monthly revenue — 2016→2024
The revenue model combined direct licence sales with affiliate commissions. Peak revenue matched peak traffic in 2020, when the business was generating between €15,000 and €18,000 a month.
After the pandemic, traffic gradually declined — the market consolidated, competition grew and Google's algorithm began to favour the big platforms. Revenue followed the same trend.
In 2024, with the business still generating cash consistently, I decided to sell it to a UK company. 8 years, €400,000 in revenue and 9 million organic visits. No ad spend. Just SEO.
The deal closed through Flippa and the listing is still public: see the sale listing. It shows the figures presented to the buyer, including the traffic decline from the 2020 peak.
// What I learned
What building Legis Music taught me about real SEO.
// Why it matters
I don't share this to impress anyone. I share it because it's the foundation of what I offer as a consultant. I didn't learn SEO from reading blogs — I learned it by building a real business for 8 years, making mistakes, adjusting the strategy and seeing the results in my own bank account. When I work with a client, that's the experience I bring to the table.
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