The Utopia Music roll-up continues. The company only recently expanded into distribution with the acquisition of physical music distributor Proper Music Group. Now it is bulking up its new ‘Distribution Services’ arm with another UK-focused purchase: Absolute Label Services.
The latter’s co-owners Henry Semmence and Simon Wills will be VPs of distribution services at Utopia, working alongside Proper Music’s Drew Hill (who’ll be VP of physical distribution) in the new unit.
It’s a significant expansion for Utopia, signalling its intentions to be a major player in the distribution space, at a time when discussion about the longer-term impacts of consolidation (see: Sony Music and AWAL) on the independent sector.
Downtown Music (with CD Baby) and Believe (with TuneCore) have staked their claim in recent years to become ‘super-indie-distros’ – yes, a term we’ve just made up, but perhaps it will catch on – through acquisitions. Utopia Music can now be considered alongside them, although distribution is just one part of its rapidly evolving business.
Tools: platforms to help you reach new audiences
Tools :: Wyng
Through Music Ally’s internal marketing campaign tracking, we’ve recently discovered an interesting website by the…