Townsend Music launches D2C Plus

10 August 2021 - Press release

New service level sees the D2C specialist bring albums, merch lines, books and more from conception to market

Sea Power, Zuzu, The Sherlocks, Kyle Falconer, Feeder and Hacienda Records among initial signings

 

Townsend Music is expanding its offering by signing select artists, labels and other rights-holders to bring a range of products from conception to market including studio albums, live albums, merchandise and even stylish coffee table books.

Under the banner of ‘D2C Plus’, Townsend Music is now able to offer clients a wide range of services including finance, creative development, product curation, campaign management, design, manufacturing, digital and physical marketing.

The launch of this new service level comes with a number of high profile and emerging artists having recently signed to D2C Plus, including Sea Power (formerly British Sea Power), Feeder, Kyle Falconer, Zuzu, The Byson Family, The Sherlocks and John Bramwell, alongside labels Hacienda Records and Alan McGee’s It’s Creation Baby.

The company has also recently published its first ever coffee table book, with So Young: Suede 1991 – 1993, which saw Townsend Music take Simon Gilbert’s original concept and manage the entire design, manufacturing and marketing process – alongside D2C.

Townsend Music’s artist-friendly D2C Plus deals see acts retain their rights under a non-restrictive, flexible and fluid agreement.

This latest expansion comes after Townsend Music released a series of exclusive vinyl deluxe edition live albums during lockdown for clients including Shed Seven, James, Bryan Ferry, Embrace and Supergrass.

Townsend Music’s D2C Plus Manager Paul Barton said: “Our aim with D2C Plus is to give artists a new and exciting way to bring products to market. That product could be a studio album, live album, catalogue release, merch line or even a book. Our expertise stretches across all of these product types and the various components needed to release them successfully. Combine that with our vast knowledge of D2C and music fan buying habits and we feel we have a strong and helpful offer to artists.

“Our moto is quality over quantity. There’s every chance we’ll release more books than studio albums, more live albums than merch and vice versa– it will all depend on the quality of the project and whether we can bring value on a case-by-case basis.”

Townsend Music Sales Director Bruce McKenzie said: “This is a natural evolution for our company. During lockdown, many of our D2C clients approached us for help with releasing new products to generate revenue when touring was off the table. We successfully took a number of live albums from conception to market and then found other clients were looking for extra levels of support such as management and business strategy.

“I’ve always seen Townsend as an A&R driven business. With the recent arrival of Paul Barton and Ben James, alongside our Business Development Manager Lucas Barr and Head Of Digital Barney, we’re able to help our D2C clients with more aspects of their careers or sign developing artists to launch their initial releases bringing in appropriate labels, distributors, managers and publishers along the way.”

Townsend Music’s Business Development Manager Lucas Barr added: “With D2C Plus we are offering artists and rights-holders a full solution to bring their projects to market; from website design and store builds to streaming and radio playlist selection. The versatility of D2C Plus allows us to work with and assist emerging and established artists at various stages of their projects and promote them to our ever-growing online community of loyal music fans.”

One of the world’s leading D2C music partners, Townsend Music provides not only online stores for artist clients but many varied, tailored and innovative ecommerce solutions. 

 

Townsend Music works with a diverse list of artists, including Royal Blood, George Harrison, Arlo Parks, Shaun Ryder and The The.