Proper and Bertus team up to offer combined European sales and distribution

17 February 2022 - Press release

New deal will streamline processes with fewer warehouses across Europe
Nettwerk to be first label to utilise new service
Debut release was Sidelines by Wild Rivers on 4 February 2022

Proper Music Group, part of the Utopia family, and Bertus, two of Europe’s leading physical distributors, have agreed a new sales and distribution deal.

The deal has been signed with the aim of simplifying processes across Europe, with just two warehouses, in the UK and the Netherlands, handling shipping for the continent – a more coordinated system with less product moved and fewer returns. This will also help to deliver lower emissions, an important step in the wider music industry mission to reduce its carbon footprint. Paperwork will be reduced too, with labels receiving one monthly sales statement covering their European sales, rather than different statements for each territory.

The first label to use the streamlined service is Nettwerk, which released Sidelines, the new album by Wild Rivers, on 4 February 2022.

On the deal, Senior Label Manager Vangel Vlaski said: “Proper Music Group has always been committed to innovating and streamlining its practices wherever possible and this new deal with Bertus marks another important step in that process. We’re delighted to be leading the way alongside Bertus and look forward to welcoming other labels.”

Bertus CEO Jan van Ditmarsch added: “We’re excited to join forces with our UK partners and build a set-up that’s best described as a Pan-European One Stop Shop. Combining both companies’ best practices and services we can offer Nettwerk a well-run operation that’s both cost-efficient and risk-reducing on many levels! We’re confident many other labels will join.”