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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 6, 2007
TuneCore Changes The Rules of The Music Industry, Smashes Old Business Convention With No Fee Distribution Model
REVOLUTIONARY SERVICE DELIVERS GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION; TAKES NO TRADITIONAL DISTRIBUTION PERCENTAGE FEE, NO RIGHTS TO MASTERS, NO EXCLUSIVITY, NO TERM PROVIDES 24 HOURS A DAY, 7 DAYS A WEEK REAL TIMES ACCESS TO EARNED REVENUE
TuneCore.com, the new music delivery and distribution service has changed the 100-year-old rules and model of the music business. It is a low, flat fee service that delivers music to iTunes, eMusic, Rhapsody and many other major download sites while taking no rights and no revenue from the sale of the music. TuneCore's fees are simply based upon the number songs delivered and the number of digital retailers it will be delivered to.
It's revolutionary. As a record label or musician using TuneCore for global distribution:
You keep all your rights.
You own your recordings.
You get all the money.
You sign no contracts.
You can terminate at will.
You have no accounting periods.
You can take your money 24 hours a day 7 days a week.
Until now, record labels and middle-man distributors controlled access to all physical and digital shelves, demanding artists sign exclusive contracts giving up rights to the music and sometimes ownership of their masters. In addition, artists had to give up a significant percentage of whatever money their music made. The money earned from the sale of the music was only paid out based on reaching an arbitrarily determined amount earned and paid out on an artificial royalty period.
"In the past, if you wanted a career in music, you had to give up your rights, your freedom and your money," says founder and CEO Jeff Price. "TuneCore changes all that."
In beta testing for the last year, TuneCore has delivered over thousands and thousands and thousands of albums to iTunes, eMusic, Rhapsody and other major digital download sites, earning over $700,000 for its users since May 2006. Its fees are simple and modest: $0.99 per song (one time charge); $0.99 per store per album (one time charge); $9.98 per album maintenance and storage (per year). For example, right now, 10 songs delivered by TuneCore to 5 download sites of your choice would cost $24.83.
Because TuneCore will provide service to an individual or record label and because digital music can reach a global audience the results could mean substantial income for an independent artist which has been the case for an array of clients like Frank Black (of the Pixies), Tapes 'n Tapes, Ziggy Marley, MC Hammer, Secondhand Serenade, Izzy Stradlin (of Guns N' Roses), Sonny Burgess, Jules Shear and MAD Dragon Records, Les Sans Culottes, Joe Ely, Ricky Skaggs and Skaggs Family Records, Roger O'Donnell (of The Cure), Juliette The Licks, UnderTow Records (Mark Eitzel, Bottle Rockets, American Music Club) and many more.
TuneCore's fast success and continued momentum are the result of many distinguishing features that set it apart from other aggregators and labels. Foremost because TuneCore charges a flat fee for distributing music to digital retailers including iTunes, Rhapsody, Napster, MusicNet, eMusic and Sony Connect, and does not take a percentage of each sale, musicians get 100% of the money they earn from download sales. In addition unlike the old industry model, TuneCore does not require an exclusive contract or require any rights to masters.
In other words, if you asked FedEx to deliver a CD to iTunes it would not ask you for 9%-30% of the money generated from the sale of the album and exclusive control of your masters for the next three years in exchange for delivering the package. TuneCore acts like FedEx in this model charging only a flat fee to deliver the package.
2007 will bring even more features to TuneCore allowing its customers to easily integrate merchandising, licensing, education and more, directly from the site through its unique relationship with other vendors. Already in place is a costumer friendly accounting system that allows TuneCore's clients to monitor, administer and manage their profits anyway they like. Musicians can receive checks from their sales the moment they become available or move funds from their TuneCore account to pay whomever they want via PayPal.
Simply put by founder and CEO Jeff Price, "Our goal is to enable artists and labels to succeed. For the first time in the history of the music industry any artist or label can have their music available in the places music buyers go to buy and discover music without having to give up any rights or revenue from the sale of their music in a non-exclusive arrangement that can be cancelled at any time. Technology has changed the way the industry works, it is time to change the business model as well."
"People think it's too good to be true, well it's not, it's true and it's good!"
--Roger O'Donnell, keyboardist for The Cure
"We ... retained all the rights, just paid a one-time fee and then in turn received all the money ... and could easily remove everything if we wanted."
--Keri Weiss, manager of Tapes 'n Tapes
"Anyone can now have their music distributed; just like Frank Black, or, for that matter, any other artist. There's no need for record companies anymore."
--Ken Goes, Manager, The Pixies
"The crack of dawn suffering a disconnect from both the consumer and the artistic community that is unparalleled in my 25 years as a label executive and artist manager. TuneCore provides the tools for artists to access their audience without penalty or compromise."
-Tom Atencio, Manager, New Order
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For more information on TuneCore, please contact Diana D'Angelo at Shore Fire Media, 718.522.7171 or
ddangelo@shorefire.com.
