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TuneCore

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Tunecore
Company typePrivate
IndustryMusic
GenreDigital distribution
Music publishing[1]
Founded2005; 19 years ago (2005)
FounderJeff Price, Gary Burke, Peter Wells
HeadquartersMain St.,
New York City
,
United States of America
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Scott Ackerman[2]
Joe Cuello[3]
Shelby Kennedy[4]
Marie-Anne Robert [5]
Andrea Gleeson [6]
ProductsOnline Delivery (Music)
Music publishing administration[1]
ServicesOn-demand music distribution
Number of employees
64
Websitehttp://www.tunecore.com/

TuneCore is a Brooklyn, New York-based independent digital music distribution service, founded in 2005. TuneCore principally offers musicians and other rights-holders the opportunity to distribute and sell or stream their music through online retailers such as iTunes, Spotify, Amazon Music, Google Play, Tidal and others.[7] TuneCore also offers music publishing administration services, helping songwriters register their compositions and collect royalties internationally.[8]

The company currently operates out of its Brooklyn, United States headquarters with offices in Austin,[9] Burbank, Boston, Nashville, Atlanta,[10] Australia[11][12] Germany, and the United Kingdom.[13][14]

History and background

TuneCore garnered media attention from ABC's World News Tonight,[15] The Daily Mirror[16] and pitchforkmedia.com.[17] TuneCore's first customer was Frank Black, lead singer of the Pixies.[18] In 2008, TuneCore was utilized by Nine Inch Nails to deliver the music from their album, Ghosts I–IV to the Amazon MP3 store.[19]

In December 2006, music instrument and equipment retailer Guitar Center bought a stake in TuneCore, giving the company access to the music retailer's customers. In the United States, TuneCore represents about 10 percent of the 20 million songs on iTunes, and it accounts for almost 4 percent of all digital sales.[20][21] TuneCore reportedly fired Jeff Price, a co-founder and then-CEO, after the company faced a "cash-flow" crisis in 2012. Price has sued TuneCore for severance compensation and has alleged that the company may have been insolvent, an accusation that the company appears to dispute.[22]

Tunecore was acquired by Believe Digital in April 2015.[23] The acquisition opened up artists access to Believe Digital’s wider distribution network and label services. Both of the companies remained operationally separate, while jointly claiming to represent of 25 to 30 percent of the new music uploaded to iTunes each day. After the acquisition, TuneCore and Believe used their newly increased leverage in negotiations with digital services including Spotify and Tidal to improve their services for their artists.[24] Also in 2015, TuneCore expanded its presence in the UK[25] and Australia[26] announcing dedicated websites including localized currency and content for each region.[27] It also introduced its YouTube Sound Recording service to collect revenue for artists when their sound recordings are used anywhere on YouTube.[28] After the acquisition, they increased leverage for negotiations with digital services including Spotify and Tidal to improve their services. In September of 2015, Tunecore stepped up its live event offerings, throwing LA's independent music community its first ever Indie Artist Forum, which focused on educating and fostering collaboration amongst aspiring professional musicians while engaging on a dialog around the ins and outs of the current landscape of the independent music business.[29][30][31]

In the fourth quarter of 2015, TuneCore saw sustained growth with independent artists earning over $142 million through TuneCore[32] including $36.8 million from digital streams and downloads.[33][34] That growth was largely a result of TuneCore's expansion strategy in two major cities of the United States, Austin and Atlanta, as well as launching two new international sites in Australia, and the UK.[35] TuneCore also added added Saavn, Nmusic and Zvooq services targeting emerging markets as partners through which artists could distribute and monetize their music. TuneCore also enjoyed notable growth in new customers in the Latin American market and the African market.[36] YouTube Sound Recording Collection Service, launched by the company was the key driver in increasing the revenue in the year.[37]

In April of 2016, TuneCore announced TuneCore Germany, launching a dedicated German website while offering localized currency, stores, and content for German artists.[38]

Products and services

TuneCore offers an online audio distribution service, that enables its users to upload,[39] record, promote, and share their originally-created sounds worldwide on Spotify, iTunes, Google Play, Amazon Music,[40] and its other digital store partners.[41] It also offers a music publishing administration service, helping songwriters register their compositions and collect royalties for composition on YouTube and other platforms, and TV and film sync licensing.[42]

Statistics

TuneCore statistics as of March 2016

  • $142 million+ paid directly to the artists in 2015[43]
  • Over 300,000 albums and 2.5 million tracks are currently available.
  • Over 200,000 artists sell their music at TuneCore

References

  1. ^ a b "TuneCore Names Jamie Purpora President of Music Publishing Administration" (PDF). TuneCore. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  2. ^ "Tunecore promotes Scott Ackerman to CEO". Prnewswire. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  3. ^ "Former MTV SVP Joe Cuello Joins TuneCore as Chief Creative Officer". Prnewswire. 16 October 2014. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  4. ^ "TuneCore Opens Nashville Office, Hires Shelby Kennedy to Run It". Billboard. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  5. ^ "Marie-Anne Robert Named VP International At TuneCore". MusicWeek. 17 February 2016. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
  6. ^ "Andrea Gleeson Named VP/Marketing At TuneCore". Allaccess.com. 16 December 2015. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  7. ^ "What stores does TuneCore distribute music to and where in the world are they available?". TuneCore. 8 October 2011. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  8. ^ "Tunecore and Sub-publisher agreements for songwriters". 28 January 2013. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  9. ^ Chad Swiatecki (15 September 2015). "Music industry vet helps grow TuneCore's Austin footprint". Bizjournals.com.
  10. ^ Phil W. Hudson (17 November 2015). "TuneCore drops beat in Atlanta with new office". Bizjournals.com.
  11. ^ "TUNECORE EXPANDS INTO AUSTRALIA". Music Business Worldwide. 10 November 2015.
  12. ^ "US Digital Distributor TuneCore Launches Australian Service". Themusic.com.au. 17 November 2015.
  13. ^ Anna Washenko (11 February 2016). "TuneCore artists earned $142 million last year". Rainnews.
  14. ^ "Company Overview of TuneCore, Inc". Bloomberg.
  15. ^ "TuneCore and the Music Revolution" (video). ABC. Retrieved 2006-08-04.
  16. ^ "DOES TUNECORE SOUND THE END FOR LABELS?". The Daily Mirror. Retrieved 2006-08-03.
  17. ^ Matthew Solarski (April 13, 2006). "TuneCore Helps Indie Acts Go Digital for Cheap". pitchforkmedia. Retrieved 3 January 2009.
  18. ^ "New Service Brings iTunes to Indie Artists". Spin. January 19, 2006. Retrieved 2006-08-11. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  19. ^ Harding, Cortney; Cohen, Jonathan (March 2, 2008). "New Nine Inch Nails Album Hits The Web". Billboard. Retrieved March 10, 2008. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  20. ^ SISARIO, BEN (May 6, 2012). "Out to Shake Up Music, Often With Sharp Words". The New York Times. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |newspaper= (help)
  21. ^ Lazarowitz, Elizabeth (November 25, 2007). "Brooklyn-based Web business helps sell music in the digital world". Daily News. Retrieved November 27, 2007. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  22. ^ "Inside Former CEO Jeff Price's Ouster from TuneCore: 'A Tale of Betrayal and Ego'". Billboard. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  23. ^ "Believe Digital Acquires TuneCore..." Digital Music News. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  24. ^ Andrew Flanagan (16 April 2015). "TuneCore and Believe Digital Partner to Argue for Better Streaming Rates, Offer Clients a Wider World". Billboard.
  25. ^ "TuneCore Expands To UK". Hypebot.com. September 2015. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  26. ^ "Tunecore launches in Australia". Hypebot.com. November 2015. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  27. ^ Glenn Peoples (1 September 2015). "TuneCore Launches in the U.K." Billboard.
  28. ^ Charlotte Hassan (15 February 2016). "YouTube Royalties Exploded 370% Last Year, Tunecore Reports". Digital Music News.
  29. ^ "INSIDE TUNECORE'S INDIE ARTIST FORUM".
  30. ^ "Overheard @ The Tunecore Indie Artist Forum". Hypebot.com.
  31. ^ "TuneCore Hosts Inaugural Indie Artist Forum With Peter Asher, Bonnie McKee". Allaccess.com. 3 September 2015.
  32. ^ Murray Stassen (17 February 2016). "TuneCore pays artists $142 million in 2015". Music Week.
  33. ^ "Tunecore Year-In-Review Spotlights Indie Artist Payouts". Allaccess.com. 11 February 2016.
  34. ^ "TuneCore Closes Out Another Strong Year With Independent Artists Earning More Than $142 Million In 2015". 11 February 2016.
  35. ^ "TuneCore Reports 90% Streaming And Download Growth, But Just 6.3% Rise In Payments To Artists".
  36. ^ Max Willens (17 November 2015). "Music Streams Skyrocket For Indie Distributor TuneCore, While Payments See Modest Rise". International Business Times.
  37. ^ "TuneCore and INDMUSIC Team to Provide YouTube Monetization Support & Toolset for Artists". 21 November 2013.
  38. ^ "Tunecore expands into Germany, single upload will cost artists €10". Music Business Worldwide. 21 November 2013.
  39. ^ Paul Resnikoff (3 March 2016). "Breaking: The Guy That Sued Tidal Just Settled With Microsoft…". Digital Music News.
  40. ^ Ural Garrett (16 March 2016). ""The Life Of Pablo" Is Kanye West's 1st Crack At Making Software". Hiphopdx.com.
  41. ^ "Tuncore Austion 2016 Takeover". 17 March 2016.
  42. ^ Tim Ingham (1 September 2015). "TUNECORE LAUNCHES IN THE UK, CHARGING £19.99 PER ALBUM UPLOAD".
  43. ^ Hassahn Liggins (11 February 2016). "Another Year Another $142 Million for TuneCore Artists". Radiofacts.

External links

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