THE ORCHARD MAKES OUT WITH FRENCHKISS RECORDS AND FRENCHKISS LABEL GROUP
26 September 2014 - Press releaseThe Orchard announced today the acquisition of respected New York-based independent label Frenchkiss Records and Frenchkiss Label Group. The label 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, among others. Importantly, it also brings to The Orchard the expertise of the Frenchkiss label team, headed by President and founder Syd Butler, and General Manager, Paul Hanly.
As VP of A&R at The Orchard and President of Frenchkiss, Syd Butler will continue to sign and develop bands for Frenchkiss as well as discover and sign other talented artists and labels for distribution by The Orchard. Butler reports to The Orchard's COO Colleen Theis.
As Director of Client Relations and GM of Frenchkiss, Paul Hanly will continue to oversee day to day label activities for Frenchkiss, as well as manage the company's US new release team, driving label management strategy. Hanly reports to VP of Client Relations, Jaclyn Bertsch.
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. In addition to its core business of digital and physical music distribution, the company 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 started 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. The New York-based label has forged a name for itself as an equitable and artist-friendly home that releases cutting-edge music. Having recently signed Minneapolis' Strange Names, Frenchkiss is still putting the finishing touches on its 2015 release schedule and will announce it shortly.
Syd 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."
"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" said Brad Navin, CEO of The Orchard.
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