Sony Merges The Orchard and Red Essential Into Single Artist/Label Services Division
Sony Music U.K. is to merge its two artist and label services
divisions Red Essential and The Orchard into one amalgamated company.
Based in central London, the new enterprise will take The Orchard name
and be led by Red Essential co-managing directors Ian Dutt and Mike Chadwick.
Offering independent clients a range of services including physical and digital sales, marketing, promotion, synch licensing and neighbouring rights in more than 30 international markets, the company counts Run The Jewels, Joey BadA$$, Anderson .Paak and British grime stars Skepta and Giggs among its current roster of clients. Label partners number Cooking Vinyl, Cherry Red, Snapper, Red Bull Records, Demon, Thirty Tigers and the London Symphony Orchestra.
According to figures from labels trade body BPI and Official Charts Company data, Sony Music accounted for 11.4 percent market share of the U.K. albums distribution market in 2016, with The Orchard taking 1.9 percent. Market leader Sony DADC, which handles Universal and Sony's physical product, distributed eight of the year's top 10 biggest-selling albums, accounting for 35.2 percent of the market.
"Separately, Red Essential and The Orchard have shown they are two great, innovative artist-focused companies," said Sony Music U.K. and Ireland chairman and CEO Jason Iley in a statement. "By partnering, and with the backing of Sony Music globally, the merged business will continue to provide support and benefits to independent artists and labels alike that is unparalleled in the U.K."
Founded by Oke Göttlich and Henning Thiess in 2003, Finetunes represents more than 2,500 direct and indirect licensors worldwide, has a database of more than 1 million tracks and operates offices in the U.K., U.S., France and Germany, where the company is headquartered. Phonofile AS was formed in 1999 and is the leading music aggregator in the Nordic region, representing over 1,000 record labels and with offices in New York, London, Oslo, Gothenburg and Copenhagen.
Last year, Finetunes and Phonofile merged under the umbrella of SendR -- a holding company predominantly owned by Göttlich and Thiess that also includes FONO (the Norwegian independent record labels' association) and NOPA (the Norwegian association for music composers and lyricists) among its main shareholders.
In line with The Orchard's acquisition, labels distributed by Finetunes and Phonofile will have access to company's services in over 25 global territories, including physical sales and distribution, marketing, promotion, sync licensing and royalty collection processing.
"Today is a big day for our finetunes family," commented founder Oke Göttlich. "We feel confident that our labels will be best positioned for a healthy and prosperous future alongside The Orchard, who is dedicated to serving independents on a global level."
However, not everyone welcomed the deal, with Merlin CEO Charles Caldas saying that the acquisition "is not positive news for the indie labels and artists affected by this deal."
"Merlin has long been vocal about our concerns that the majors, via their faux-indie imprints, are land-grabbing independents rights in order to bolster their market shares and use the value of those indie artists to extract disproportionate value from the market in their negotiations with digital services," Caldas went on to say, hitting out at The Orchard, which was wholly acquired by Sony Music Entertainment in March 2015.
"That value flows only one way," Caldas continued, "and it is not to the indie labels and their artists who actually create that value."
Offering independent clients a range of services including physical and digital sales, marketing, promotion, synch licensing and neighbouring rights in more than 30 international markets, the company counts Run The Jewels, Joey BadA$$, Anderson .Paak and British grime stars Skepta and Giggs among its current roster of clients. Label partners number Cooking Vinyl, Cherry Red, Snapper, Red Bull Records, Demon, Thirty Tigers and the London Symphony Orchestra.
According to figures from labels trade body BPI and Official Charts Company data, Sony Music accounted for 11.4 percent market share of the U.K. albums distribution market in 2016, with The Orchard taking 1.9 percent. Market leader Sony DADC, which handles Universal and Sony's physical product, distributed eight of the year's top 10 biggest-selling albums, accounting for 35.2 percent of the market.
"Separately, Red Essential and The Orchard have shown they are two great, innovative artist-focused companies," said Sony Music U.K. and Ireland chairman and CEO Jason Iley in a statement. "By partnering, and with the backing of Sony Music globally, the merged business will continue to provide support and benefits to independent artists and labels alike that is unparalleled in the U.K."
Founded by Oke Göttlich and Henning Thiess in 2003, Finetunes represents more than 2,500 direct and indirect licensors worldwide, has a database of more than 1 million tracks and operates offices in the U.K., U.S., France and Germany, where the company is headquartered. Phonofile AS was formed in 1999 and is the leading music aggregator in the Nordic region, representing over 1,000 record labels and with offices in New York, London, Oslo, Gothenburg and Copenhagen.
Last year, Finetunes and Phonofile merged under the umbrella of SendR -- a holding company predominantly owned by Göttlich and Thiess that also includes FONO (the Norwegian independent record labels' association) and NOPA (the Norwegian association for music composers and lyricists) among its main shareholders.
In line with The Orchard's acquisition, labels distributed by Finetunes and Phonofile will have access to company's services in over 25 global territories, including physical sales and distribution, marketing, promotion, sync licensing and royalty collection processing.
"Today is a big day for our finetunes family," commented founder Oke Göttlich. "We feel confident that our labels will be best positioned for a healthy and prosperous future alongside The Orchard, who is dedicated to serving independents on a global level."
However, not everyone welcomed the deal, with Merlin CEO Charles Caldas saying that the acquisition "is not positive news for the indie labels and artists affected by this deal."
"Merlin has long been vocal about our concerns that the majors, via their faux-indie imprints, are land-grabbing independents rights in order to bolster their market shares and use the value of those indie artists to extract disproportionate value from the market in their negotiations with digital services," Caldas went on to say, hitting out at The Orchard, which was wholly acquired by Sony Music Entertainment in March 2015.
"That value flows only one way," Caldas continued, "and it is not to the indie labels and their artists who actually create that value."
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