NEW YORK (VIP NEWS) — Distribution company The Orchard has acquired New York-based independent label Frenchkiss Records and Frenchkiss Label Group.
The deal "underlines The Orchard’s strategic vision as a creative business partner for its music and film client base, re-defining what distribution means in today’s industry."
Frenchkiss is home to artists including Local Natives, Bloc Party, Drowners, Tweens, Emma Louise, Crocodiles, French Style Furs, Johnny Aries, The Drums, The Dodos, The Antlers, The Hold Steady and Les Savy Fav.
President and founder of Frenchkiss, Syd Butler, will continue his role as well as serving as VP of A&R at The Orchard.
Director of client relations and GM of Frenchkiss, Paul Hanly, will oversee day to day label activities for Frenchkiss and manage the company’s US new release team.
Discussing the deal, Butler said, “As both an artist and a business owner, I am proud to call The Orchard home. Having worked with the company to distribute Frenchkiss for so many years, fully integrating the label is a natural next step.
"The access to increased scale, infrastructure and financial support will help take Frenchkiss to the next level. I’m excited to be able to tap into the global team first hand and continue to expand the realm of opportunities.”
Brad Navin, CEO of The Orchard, commented: “What Syd and Paul have built is inspiring, and I am thrilled to have their expertise in-house. The outstanding artist roster and the label’s reputation speaks for itself.
"In addition to a love for great music, Frenchkiss and The Orchard share common values and business ethos. We will remain true to those as we continue to expand our reach into the ‘traditional’ industry while retaining our position as the world’s leading digital distributor,”
In addition to its core business of digital and physical music distribution, The Orchard also offers pan-territorial release management, retail marketing, brand strategy, interactive marketing, digital advertising, media buying, performance rights collections, mechanical rights administration, sub-publishing, YouTube video channel management and end-to-end film distribution across digital and theatrical.
Frenchkiss Records was founded in 1999 by Butler, bassist and founder of Les Savy Fav, to release the band’s second album The Cat and The Cobra.
The label has since been responsible for discovering artists such as The Hold Steady, The Antlers, The Dodos, Passion Pit and Local Natives. –According to MusicWeek
