From News.com
A new set of services aimed at giving independent music labels online distribution is springing up, hoping to reach companies like Apple’s iTunes and the new Napster.
San Francisco-based Independent Online Distribution Alliance (IODA) is the latest to hit the scene. It launched Monday with deals in place to negotiate digital rights on behalf of 50 labels whose music it hopes to place with the growing Net download and subscription services. A few older companies, such as CD Baby and The Orchard, also represent the digital rights of independent artists and labels.
“What we’re saying is that this solves problems for both parties, and particularly for the independent labels,” said IODA founder Kevin Arnold. “Typically, independents are companies with small staffs that don’t have a lot of expertise with digital rights, and don’t have in-house attorneys.”
The move towards organization of independent labels could help speed the acceptance of authorized music subscription and download services, most of which have focused so far on acquiring music from the five major music labels.
The “Big Five” labels represent about 80 percent of the music sold in the United States. Independents typically have small but often dedicated fan bases. Some industry reports show that many indies have actually fared better than larger labels through the economic downturn, with sales growing, sometimes substantially, in 2002 while overall industry revenues fell by close to 11 percent.
Related Posts
- Indie record labels seeing gold
- The Indie-Rock Insurgency Against iTunes
- Digital song stores attract music fans
- Music Labels say Streaming is Swell
- Indie labels want copyright shift
Loading ...
