Sony Music Entertainment has revealed plans to combine its regional independent distribution groups around the world into The Orchard, with its various teams uniting as a single global team managed by The Orchard CEO Brad Navin.
The move is designed to offer a comprehensive service to the independent community with global reach and an experienced local staff in more than 30 markets around the world. In the UK, Sony Music’s Essential business integrated into The Orchard, as well as in the US, where the distribution division of Red, Sony Music’s US independent services company, merged into The Orchard.
All existing Red distribution label managers and account executives will become part of The Orchard team and relocate to The Orchard’s New York HQ.
The Orchard currently works with an array of high-profile clients from across the globe, including Joey BadA$$, Slayer, Daya, Kelsea Ballerini, Flume, Skepta, Diet Cig, OMD, J Alvarez, Negramaro, Jorge & Mateus and Allman Brown, and labels including Thirty Tigers, Metal Blade, Som Livre, Red Bull Records, Mom and Pop, Nuclear Blast, Frontiers Music Srl, Cosmos Music, Frenchkiss Records, Relapse Records, Sugar Music, Gerencia 360, Tropisounds, and Premium Latin.
Navin commented: “Our newly merged company is unique in structure, scale and reach. Coming together as one company that is both truly global and locally-focused will allow us to take the service we provide to our artist and label partners to the next level. The Orchard is the only global comprehensive digital and physical distribution platform with its own delivery, sales, distribution and reporting systems built specifically for independent clients. With a single deal clients have the ability to deliver their music to every leading global and local digital and physical retailer and reach music fans around the world.”
As part of the merger, Red in the US is being ‘refocused’ as a full-service marketing agency and label services company called Red Music. The operation will be led by president Bob Morelli and will look to provide marketing, promotion, product management and label services support to its existing label client base.
Morelli said: “For our label and artist partners in the U.S., we are significantly multiplying the levels of quality service we provide with these exciting new changes. Not only will distribution clients now enjoy unmatched global reach as part of The Orchard under Brad Navin, but also our marketing and label services clients in the U.S. will now receive dedicated attention from the new Red Music to make sure their releases are receiving highly customised solutions for the best possible profile in the marketplace. Taken all together we think this is a win-win for clients.”
