Press

Rapper Inks Global Distribution Deal With The Orchard

Chart-topping Mexican rapper Santa Fe Klan scored his first AMPROFON certified gold record for the hit single “Mar y Tierra,” initially released on April 4th. The song marked the breakout artist’s first entry on Billboard‘s Hot Latin Songs, with over 65 million streams worldwide. Additionally, Santa Fe Klan recently signed a global distribution deal with The Orchard, a move that will provide him with access to the company’s full suite of services. The Orchard presented the artist (whose real name is Ángel Quezada), with a plaque to commemorate reaching gold status at his recent performance at Arena Ciudad de México in Mexico City. 

Claudia Ochoa, Vice President of The Orchard Mexico said, “We are proud to be a part of the developing history of  Santa Fe Klan. Ángel is an artist with unique talent, and this recognition for “Mar y Tierra ” is the first of the many milestones we will achieve together.”

Santa Fe Klan added, “I am very happy to start this new stage with The Orchard as partners. My music is the most important thing to me, and I will always want to give my best to my fans.”

Hailing from Guanajuato, México, Ángel is an emcee capable of connecting with millions of people through his reality: that of a young man from Santa Fe (the neighborhood where he was born and raised) who explores all the vices and virtues of his neighborhood through music. Santa Fe Klan blends hip hop, Mexican rap, cumbias, accordion, and sonideros to achieve his signature “sound from the barrio.” He collaborated with regional Mexican, EDM, and pop artists, and is actively exploring other musical genres. Santa Fe Klan’s fifth studio album Mundo features ballads and piano songs including “Luka,” a lullaby for his newborn son. Harboring a deep respect for his namesake neighborhood, Santa Fe Klan owns a music studio in Guanajuato where residents – especially young men – have the opportunity to record their music for free. 

In August, Mundo debuted at No. 4 on Billboard’s Latin Pop Albums Chart and sat at No. 11 on the Latin Rhythm Albums and in the top 20 on the Top Latin Albums chart. Santa Fe Klan is the second artist to earn a Latin Pop Albums chart Top 10 appearance in 2022 after his single “Soy” (featured on Marvel’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Prologue EP ) landed at No. 8 on the Latin Digital Songs.

Santa Fe Klan told Billboard Magazine,“My songs are emotions and feelings that I write at the moment. Writing for me has been very simple because it’s my truth.”

About The Orchard:
The Orchard, now in its 25th year, is a full-service music distribution company operating in more than 45 cities worldwide. The Orchard’s comprehensive artist & label services offering harnesses innovative technology, transparent data analysis, and expertise to reach fans and grow audiences. Offerings include digital and physical sales and marketing, advertising, sync and brand partnerships, rights management, video monetization, collaborator splits and royalty accounting, publishing administration and more. Championed by an exceptional community of music lovers and experts, The Orchard empowers creators and entrepreneurs to grow and adapt in the dynamic, global industry. For further information, visit www.theorchard.com

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The Orchard today announced Magic Star will become its official global division of children
and family entertainment. Under the new partnership, Magic Star’s roster of children’s brands
will have access to The Orchard’s full suite of artist and label services and global distribution network.

Originally launched in 2019 by Sony Music Entertainment UK, Magic Star developed music and strategy
for celebrated family brands L.O.L. Surprise!, The Rainbow Collections, YolanDa Brown, and more.
Will Speer will spearhead the new division as Managing Director, reporting to Prashant Bahadur,
Executive Vice President and Head of Strategy at The Orchard. Magic Star will remain in London.
The new division will expand upon The Orchard’s current children’s roster, which includes The Wiggles,
The Kiboomers, Rockabye Baby, and Kidsongs to create a robust, expanded global pipeline. Magic
Star will work closely with The Orchard to develop strategy across family entertainment and support new
music releases.

“We are thrilled that Magic Star has joined The Orchard. Our expertise in the kids and family music
space coupled with the existing global infrastructure and leading technology of The Orchard will lend
itself to how we work with our artists and brands. We are looking forward to working with the labels
currently within The Orchard as well as developing new partnerships,” said Speer.

“The Magic Star team has helped build timeless children’s brands that resonate with audiences,” said
Prashant Bahadur EVP, Head of Strategy, The Orchard. “With the new division under The Orchard,
we will continue to build upon the ideas of education, culture, and digital and social tools to reach
children and families on a global scale.”

Magic Star has amassed vast knowledge of the family content marketplace. The brand’s approach to
music release strategies lies within the four pillars of discovery when it comes to kids: educational,
digital, social, and cultural. This offers brands unparalleled expertise in tailored marketing campaigns for
both audio and visual content which specifically target the family audience.

Speer continues, “Kids and family audio consumption grew tremendously during the pandemic. Magic
Star understands that the streaming behavior of children is very different from that of adults. We have a
deep knowledge of how families spend their time as well as how, when, and why they interact with audio
content.”

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About Magic Star:
Magic Star is the Global Division of children’s and family entertainment at The Orchard. Launched in
October 2019 as part of Sony Music Entertainment UK, Magic Star is dedicated to children’s audio and
audiovisual content from pop music and spoken word to live events for the whole family. Magic Star’s
partner offerings include music engagement & marketing strategy, video creation, distribution, brand
partnerships, spoken word production and press/publicity campaigns. www.magicstarkids.com.

 The Orchard and Glassnote Records today announced a global distribution partnership. Under the agreement, The Orchard will provide the indie giant’s full artist roster with a worldwide network of services and capabilities. Started in 2007 by Daniel Glass, Glassnote Records is home to Grammy Award-winning acts like Mumford & Sons and Phoenix, as well as CHVRCHES, AURORA, Two Door Cinema Club, Daughter, and more. The label originally joined RED Distribution, a subsidiary of Sony Music Group in 2008 and now returns to the Sony Music Group family with The Orchard partnership.  

Within the last decade, Glassnote Records garnered success with releases like the Grammy-Award Winning Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (2009) album by French indie pop band Phoenix; Mumford & Sons’ Sigh No More (2009) and Babel (2012), which won a Grammy for Album of the Year in 2013; and Childish Gambino’s Camp (2011) Because The Internet (2013) and Awaken My Love (2016) albums. 

“The Glassnote Records team has built a home for artists that supports and cultivates creativity,” said Brad Navin, CEO, The Orchard. “As a strategic partner, The Orchard will continue to empower and reinforce their creative vision, and help all artists under the partnership expand their reach in international markets.”

“The Glassnote Team is thrilled to be working with The Orchard,” said Daniel Glass, President & Founder, Glassnote Records. “The global reach and expertise of their team in both digital and traditional distribution will be an asset to our talented roster and the slate of incredible releases we have coming.”

About Glassnote
Glassnote Records is the proud home to Grammy Award winning Phoenix, Grammy Award winning and multi-platinum selling Mumford & Sons, CHVRCHES, AURORA, Two Door Cinema Club, Hamilton Leithauser, Ripe, Daughter, Flight Facilities, The Strumbellas, Dylan Cartlidge, Jade Bird and more. Glassnote has been hailed as the “Best Indie Label” by Rolling Stone, “Label of the Year” at the A2IM Libera Awards, “#1 Independent Label” by Billboard and Pigeons & Planes has described them as “a powerhouse in the world of indie labels.”

About The Orchard
The Orchard, now in its 25th year, is a full-service music distribution company operating in more than 45 cities worldwide. The Orchard’s comprehensive artist & label services offering harnesses innovative technology, transparent data analysis, and expertise to reach fans and grow audiences. Offerings include digital and physical sales and marketing, advertising, sync and brand partnerships, rights management, video monetization, collaborator splits and royalty accounting, publishing administration and more. The Orchard empowers creators and entrepreneurs to grow and adapt in the dynamic, global industry. For further information, visit www.theorchard.com.

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Los Angeles-based artist distribution and services company Human Re Sources announced today it will be expanding and opening a new communal workspace in Atlanta, GA. The new workspace will house two new recording studios, which will be used for artists to record music, and will provide meeting and event space. 

Mark Jackson, who is currently the Creative Director for the Trap Museum, joins the company as Vice President, Head of Human Re Sources, Atlanta, reporting to J. Erving, Executive Vice President, The Orchard/CEO & Founder, Human Re Sources. As the new Head of Atlanta, Jackson will provide local expertise, and build out Human Re Sources’ roster of artist clients in the region with support from The Orchard.

Prior to joining Human Re Sources, Jackson led the A&R division for Grand Hustle Records, founded by rapper T.I. During his time, he worked with artists Travis Scott, Trae tha Truth, Young Dro, Tokyo Jetz and Doe B. With more than 15 years of music experience, Jackson lent his expertise as a consultant to EMPIRE Distribution.

In December 2020, Sony Music Entertainment acquired Human Re Sources. The company then became part of The Orchard’s global distribution and artist and label services brand. Under J. Erving’s leadership, Human Re Sources has signed and developed artists such as Brent Faiyaz, Cordae, YBN Nahmir, Pink Sweat$, Baby Rose, Bren Joy and added artists like 2Tone and Grip, Jensen McRae, and Grammy-nominated Ant Clemons to The Orchard’s roster. 

“Human Re Sources has always been for the culture. I look forward to expanding its presence across the South and finding raw talent that will move the needle,” said Mark Jackson. “This workspace will offer a home for artists, and we hope to inspire creativity as well as engrain the Human Re Sources brand into Atlanta’s musical DNA.”

“With this expansion, Human Re Sources will now have an official home in the South. Atlanta is a hot bed for Hip Hop, and for some time now has been leading the charge in the music industry,” said J. Erving, Executive Vice President, The Orchard/Founder and CEO, Human Re Sources. “Having a major player like Mark, who has a wealth of experience and knowledge, will help us build vested relationships in the region and develop the best talent.”

About Human Re Sources
Launched in 2017 by founder and CEO J Erving, Human Re Sources is a formidable independent powerhouse of talent development. The black-owned Los Angeles-based digital-distribution company has quickly become a key player and ranks among the Top 10 independent distributors in the music industry. Human Re Sources is recognized for routinely shepherding previously unknown talent into major-label ready stars, as evident from their work with YBN Nahmir (two Platinum single certifications), to Pink Sweats, whose single “Honesty” was certified Platinum in July 2020, and gold singles with both Brent Faiyaz and Cordae. 

About The Orchard
The Orchard, now in its 25th year, is a full-service music distribution company operating in more than 45 cities worldwide. The Orchard’s comprehensive artist & label services offering harnesses innovative technology, transparent data analysis, and expertise to reach fans and grow audiences. Offerings include digital and physical sales and marketing, advertising, sync and brand partnerships, rights management, video monetization, collaborator splits and royalty accounting, publishing administration and more. Championed by an exceptional community of music lovers and experts, The Orchard empowers creators and entrepreneurs to grow and adapt in the dynamic, global industry. For further information, visit www.theorchard.com.

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On March 16, 2022, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) published its Final Report on the acquisition of AWAL and Neighbouring Rights. The full press release from the CMA can be found here.

This Final Report approves Sony Music Entertainment’s (SME) acquisition of Kobalt’s recorded music operations, including AWAL, a leading provider of services to independent recording artists, and Neighbouring Rights, one of the leading performance rights collection agencies for artists and independent labels worldwide, announced in February 2021.

Sony Music Entertainment said:

“We welcome the decision by the CMA to clear Sony Music’s acquisition of AWAL and Neighbouring Rights, allowing us to focus on offering the best service for their artists, in an intensely competitive market with multiple competitors and many offerings. This is the start of an exciting new venture for SME, AWAL and Neighbouring Rights, and ensures we can continue to deliver real benefits for artists globally as the music industry continues to evolve.”