Believe-owned digital music distribution service TuneCore has revealed the latest move in its ongoing global expansion, with the launches of TuneCore Russia and TuneCore Brazil.
Both Russian and Brazilian music markets will now be supported by TuneCore country managers on the ground as well as dedicated local language websites in Russian and Portuguese.
Ivan Ivanov has been appointed as Head of TuneCore Russia and heading up TuneCore Brazil is Bruno Duque.
These openings mark the 9th and 10th countries with local TuneCore hires, and the company states that several more are planned in the coming year.
Earlier this year TuneCore launched in India, with a dedicated website for the Indian music market featuring local talent and local currency.
The company expanded into Germany, France and Italy in 2016, the UK and Australia markets in 2015, while TuneCore Japan and TuneCore Canada have had similar localized services since 2012 and 2011, respectively.
Ivanov will report jointly to Andreea Gleeson, Chief Marketing Officer of TuneCore as well as Viktoria Siniavskaia, Managing Director Russia, Eastern Europe and META of TuneCore parent Believe.
Duque also reports to both Gleeson, and Alejandra Olea, Managing Director, Americas for Believe.
In Russia, Ivanov will partner with leading local music aggregator UMA as well as the local digital music store Yandex on behalf of TuneCore and its artists.
Ivanov’s background is in business development, where he has helped key media companies build their presence in Russia.
He most recently worked at Yoola, a global YouTube multi-channel network with over 1.5 billion subscribers and over 10 billion monthly views.
TuneCore Brazil’s Bruno Duque began his career at Sony Music in Los Angeles in the Latin Music Division, and then segued into other areas of the industry.
Most recently, Duque was Marketing Manager at Latin American digital content distributor iMusica. There, he focused on licensing and label relations.
According to Believe – which realized around $700m of digital revenue as a global business last year – TuneCore nows pays out “well over” $1 million each day.
“Choosing Brazil for the newest TuneCore office speaks volumes to the company’s dedication to supporting independent artists across all musical genres.
Bruno Duque
Duque stated: “Brazil is a country with a diverse and creative culture, which heavily influences its music.
“Choosing Brazil for the newest TuneCore office speaks volumes to the company’s dedication to supporting independent artists across all musical genres.
“I’m excited to join TuneCore Brazil, especially as digital music and streaming services continue to grow and invigorate the local music scene.”
“The launch of TuneCore Russia is an investment in the country’s burgeoning local music scene and I’m very excited to have a role that empowers Russian independent artists.”
Ivan Ivanov
Ivanov added: “The Russian music market has enjoyed exponential year over year growth, largely due to the bridge between social media and streaming services.
“The launch of TuneCore Russia is an investment in the country’s burgeoning local music scene and I’m very excited to have a role that empowers Russian independent artists to distribute their music worldwide and grow their careers, without giving up their rights or revenue.”
“TuneCore’s global expansion is one that we approach very thoughtfully, yet confidently. Both Russia and Brazil are key markets for independent artists.”
Andreea Gleeson
Gleeson said: “TuneCore’s global expansion is one that we approach very thoughtfully, yet confidently. Both Russia and Brazil are key markets for independent artists, having seen exponential growth in recent years due to the availability of digital music and the accelerated growth of streaming services.
“By expanding our local team and localizing our website to Russian and Portuguese, we demonstrate our support of artists with dedicated local executives who not only speak the same language as our artists but also live and breathe the same culture.
“Bruno and Ivan are industry veterans with extensive understanding of independent artist needs in their markets and believe deeply in our vision to support all artists, at all stages of their careers. I am delighted they have joined our team.”Music Business Worldwide
