Heard Well, an experimental record label which attempts to discover talent through YouTube stars and their communities, has signed a partnership with Sony‘s RED Distribution in the US.
MBW first reported on Los Angeles’ based Heard Well last summer.
The company was co-founded by YouTube sensation Connor Franta, with a view to releasing compilation albums made up of tracks from unknown artists, all curated by Franta and his fellow ‘social media influencers’.
[Franta is pictured with Heard Well co-founders, Jeremy Wineberg and Andrew Graham]
These included Franta’s fellow YouTube stars Amanda Steele (2.4 million subscribers), Lohanthony (1.5 million) and Jc Caylen (2.4 million).
Since its launch, Heard Well’s compilation albums which have debuted in the Top 10 on the US Billboard and iTunes charts.
The label says it has just signed three new ‘influencers’ to create compilation albums and will begin signing original music acts in the future – at which point, its YouTube/social media stars and their communities will essentially become online A&Rs.
“The concept for heard well has evolved into a team of smart, creative people with impeccable taste who reach millions.”
Bob Morelli, RED
Heard Well will now utilize RED and ‘stache media’s label services including radio promotion, digital sales marketing, manufacturing, distribution, marketing, e-commerce, and fulfillment to maximise the potential of its released.
This will supplement what Heard Well calls its ‘built-in influencer-powered distribution’ – ie. the ability to spread music throughout the followers of its star names.
But RED gets something in return: Heard Well has committed to ‘super-charging its communities around RED’s priority releases and artists’.
“With their expertise in both traditional and digital distribution, RED will ensure our influencers and artist partners get well-rounded support,” said Heard Well co-founder Jeremy Wineberg.
“Being able to team up with RED’s top-of-the-line roster of artists is an exciting bonus to this partnership.”
RED’s in-house agency ‘stache media says the Heard Well partnership will strengthen its ‘network of influencers who are passionate about elevating emerging musicians and breaking artists in new, digitally native ways’.
Bob Morelli, President of RED stated, “The concept for Heard Well has evolved into a team of smart, creative people with impeccable taste who reach millions through their amazing digital marketing strategy.
“RED and ‘stache media look forward to working with Jeremy, Andrew, Connor, and the entire Heard Well team in developing the best new talent in contemporary music.”
Ryan Pastorek at Beverly Hills-based Hansen Jacobson penned the deal for Heard Well.
A division of Sony Music Entertainment headquartered in New York, RED offers 70+ independent labels distribution plus a suite of other services including digital account management and physical sales, marketing, D2C, radio promotion and product development.
Dubbed ‘an artist development company’, RED’s independent label roster in the US includes the likes of BMG, Cooking Vinyl, Downtown Records, Fat Possum, ie: music, Mom & Pop, Nuclear Blast and Thirty Tigers.
Picture credit: Hennessy VandheurMusic Business Worldwide
