Orchard Adds Custom Digital Download Stores

CelebrityAccess MediaWire – The Orchard has launched an innovative new digital retail option for The Orchard’s label and artist clients. Now, in addition to supplying music to the leading digital music services around the globe, The Orchard will create independent digital stores for its record label clients. The new service offering offers a robust, turnkey digital retail store solution with no upfront build-out costs to labels. Artists and labels can choose to sell their music in MP3, WMA or AAC formats; in US Dollars, British Pounds Sterling or Euros; and consumers in the UK can even pay by SMS. Artists and labels set the retail price and have the option of merchandising the store themselves or having it managed by The Orchard’s merchandising team at no extra cost. Payments are fully integrated into The Orchard’s industry-leading web-based online accounting system.

The first of The Orchard label stores opened on August 16 and include a combination of leading labels and hot independent artists: SLAMjamz, Crash Records, Amulet Records, Blazin’ Squad and Pedro. The Orchard will launch more stores in the coming weeks from labels including Lookout! Records, Aquarian Nation, Alliant Music Group, French Kiss and others.

According to Orchard, "Our new sales solution empowers labels and artists to take even more control over pricing, merchandising and how their music is sold. We expect our label partners to embrace this option, which further reinforces The Orchard’s mission of creating new markets and marketing methods for independent music and the people who create it."

Amulet Records’ Billy Martin (also of Medeski, Martin and Wood) enthused, "We have an active and devoted fan base for our label’s music so we’re excited to be able to sell them directly. It solidifies our bond with fans, and also delivers higher profits for us."

"The Orchard is always ten steps ahead in this digital music game," said Chuck D, of hip-hop stalwarts Public Enemy and who now runs SLAMjamz. "Other distributors just get you into traditional digital retail outlets. The Orchard certainly does all that, but they also are always thinking about creative marketing ideas that will help their labels sell more music and also connect directly with consumers." – Bob Grossweiner and Jane Cohen