Universal Music Group has announced a new deal with TuneCore, the digital music distribution company.
The agreement, says Jeff Price, founder and CEO of TuneCore, will allow the distribution company to host music for UMG’s labels and artists.
The press release adds that “as an artist’s career grows, they may benefit from having a number of artist-discovery, marketing and upstreaming opportunities within the UMG system.
“Our agreement with TuneCore highlights UMGD’s commitment to a strong sales philosophy and long-term artist development,” notes a UMG spokesperson. “UMGD is uniquely positioned to provide the most flexible and comprehensive digital and physical distribution, sales and marketing services in the industry, all of which results in more profitable opportunities for both our labels and our artists.”
“Honestly, Universal is one of the most forward thinking record labels on the planet,” added Price. “With this deal UMGD has truly changed the rules and the major label model by providing true choice for a musician. If an artist is doing well, there is a direct line through which UMGD can extend its hand or, via the existing TuneCore model, the artist can choose to continue to succeed on their own. It is the continuation of the shift to serve the musician.”
Result for: music distribution
With a history of knee-jerk reactions and paranoia over new technology, record labels are the last place you’d expect to find an innovative approach to music distribution. But that’s just what one music industry insider laid out in a keynote address at last week’s Digital Music Forum East.
Jim Griffin will be running a new non-profit project called Choruss. Simply put, its purpose is to figure out how to make money licensing music.
Griffin’s experience in the recording industry includes founding the technology group at Geffen Records in the mid-90s.
Before you shake your head about yet another clueless music industry executive claiming to have solved the digital distribution problem it’s worth paying attention to what he’s saying. Much of it is a message we’ve heard many times, just never from the labels.
“Music’s greatest financial power is its ability to draw a crowd,” said Griffin, “not our ability to control its quantity.”
More importantly, he admitted “We do not pretend to know the answers, but we are certain that now is the time for experimentation and learning cannot come fast enough.”
Result for: music distribution
On Monday we reported that Apple was threatening to close down iTunes if the Copyright Royalty Board voted to raise digital music distribution royalty fees.
It appears however that fans of the iTunes store need not worry as the vote has come through and the rates will remain unchanged, at least for the near future.
The rate hike talk will be re-voted on in 2012, but for the time being everyone seems happy with the decision including the record labels and the Digital Media Association, the group of which most online music retailers including Apple and Amazon are a part of.
Jonathan Potter, the Association’s executive director, added “that the decision to keep the rates at the same level will significantly help digital services and retailers in their quests to innovate and grow over the next several years.”
