TuneCore Underscores Commitment to Innovation with Appointment of Alisha Outridge to Newly Created Position of Chief Technology & Product Officer

29 June 2022 - Press release

Outridge's background includes leading teams and expanding product offerings internationally at both startups as well as industry leading companies such as Facebook (Meta), iHeartRadio, and KickApps 

 

Leading independent digital music distributor for self-releasing artists and labels TuneCore, a division of global digital music company Paris-based Believe, has appointed Alisha Outridge as the company's first Chief Technology & Product Officer. The move underscores the company's dedication to being one of the most innovative music distribution companies in the industry, utilizing technology to help creators grow their careers amid the rapidly changing landscape of the music industry. The announcement was made today by Andreea Gleeson, Chief Executive Officer, TuneCore. 

Outridge comes to TuneCore with over 15 years leading teams, defining product market fit, building digital experiences from the ground-up and expanding product offerings internationally at start-ups and larger companies. She has built consumer as well as B2B2C experiences in the Entertainment and Social Data and Publishing Platform industry at Facebook (Meta), iHeartRadio, and KickApps. Outridge has spent her career developing technology as an engineer, and later a product and engineering leader to build solutions that enable creators and brands to connect with their fans and people to connect with each other in order to share what they love in music, media, social networking, and entertainment.

TuneCore has long been a platform that self-releasing artists and labels have relied upon to get their music distributed worldwide and get 100% of what they earned, paid. As the music industry continues to evolve, TuneCore is focused on supporting independent artists and labels through all the transitions their careers may take by building the tools they need to continually grow. In the coming year, TuneCore's continued evolution and roadmap priorities will be focused on three key areas - to help self-releasing artists "make their music better," "become better known," and "make their lives easier." Up next, the company will be introducing Splits, a must-have solution for artists and labels to help streamline accounting, save time and coordinate pay outs to all contributors on song collaborations.

Since its inception, TuneCore has sat at the forefront of technology as one of the first automated digital music distributors and the company continues to innovate with new products and programs each year. Over the last year TuneCore has proactively partnered with DSPs to integrate technology that offers artists early and exclusive access to unique programs and services such as YouTube Shorts, Facebook's Independent Artist Program, Spotify Discovery Mode, Tidal's Direct Artist Payment program and Twitch's incubator program, "The Collective." 

Earlier this month, the company launched a new pricing program, TuneCore Unlimited whereby tech and product worked together to overhaul the existing pricing structure while localizing the offering into 16 languages and 7 currencies. The new plan allows music creators of all levels to release music at affordable prices, starting with the FREE plan. For no annual fee, artists can utilize the New Artist plan and distribute to social platforms like TikTok, Facebook Stories, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts enabling them to test their music on social platforms as a pre-step to wider distribution. The next level, Rising Artist, is just $14.99 per year for UNLIMITED releases. The program also includes a Breakout Artist level for $29.99 and a Professional level for $49.99, with each plan offering increased benefits and faster artist support turnaround times.

Said Gleeson, "TuneCore is deeply committed to building innovative tools that will help our artists and labels grow. Our company mission, roadmap and priorities are focused around this. Bringing in Alisha to lead and unite our tech and product teams, to operate in lockstep, will allow us to continue moving forward seamlessly as the industry leader, building the absolute best service for our artists and labels. Her background at both startups and larger media companies, coupled with her entrepreneurial mindset are critical in supporting TuneCore's mission and driving innovation as the company continues to scale."

Commented Outridge, "As a former oil painter, I have a deep appreciation for all forms of artistry and a keen understanding of the desire to monetize one's art. The same way I taught myself how to code to sell my art online, my career has been about creating solutions to connect people, places, and brands. I'm excited to take on this important role at TuneCore, combining my two life passions – being an artist and building technology to provide easy to use, end-to-end solutions combining art and commerce."

Outridge joins TuneCore from her position as the Chief Product Officer and Entrepreneur-In-Residence of Two Canoes in New York City. While at Two Canoes, Outridge helped create new blockchain-based e-commerce and loyalty platform solutions in the Real Estate, Retail and Hospitality industries. During her career, Outridge has worked closely with smaller, global start-ups as well as larger companies such as: Facebook where she was the Senior Project Management Lead; iHeartRadio where she served as the company's Director of Product Management, (Social & Innovation); and KickApps where she was Vice President, Product Management.