BARCELONA, SPAIN (Top 40 Charts/ IODA) - IODA, the global leader in digital distribution, marketing, and technology solutions for the independent music industry, today announced IODA Spain (IODA ES) in partnership with DiscMedi, a leading independent record label, publisher and distributor in Spain. To fully capitalize on the digital opportunities for the independent music community in Spain and Portugal, DiscMedi also announced the formation of iDfd (Independent
Digital Format Distribution), a new digital division dedicated to providing digital sales and marketing services. iDfd will be powered by IODA's powerful technology platform.
Leveraging DiscMedi's Spanish expertise and market position, IODA labels will now have access to specialized marketing, sales and technology expertise tailored for the fast-growing digital music market in Spain. Similarly, DiscMedi's artists and labels will now have access to robust digital distribution in Spain as well as digital representation through IODA's worldwide network that spans every major music market.
"With nearly twenty years experience in the market, DiscMedi has become one of the biggest music companies in Spain outside the majors due in large part to its deep understanding of the independent music industry and its forward-looking approach to the business," said Kevin Arnold, founder and CEO of IODA. "By combining our global technology platform with DiscMedi's music representation and local market knowledge, we will be able to connect more fans to more music in a market that is currently under-serviced in the digital music arena."
Under the terms of the strategic partnership, iDfd will gain access to IODA's catalog of more than one million independent tracks to distribute to retail and promotional partners in Spain. Similarly, IODA will distribute DiscMedi's catalog of independent music through its extensive international network.
As the leading record label, publisher and distributor of independent music in Spain, DiscMedi has numerous relationships with local artists, labels and international music to distribute in the territory. IODA's partnership with iDfd follows the strategic model IODA has built in other regions such as France, Japan and Mexico. IODA selects partners with a strong independent music client catalog, proven success in physical distribution and a shared vision for the role technology can play in the growth of independent music.
"IODA's sophisticated technology platform will provide our labels with greater access to the digital market, and also establish an immediate leadership position in the digital distribution market in Spain," said Matias Chimirri, iDfd Manager at DiscMedi. "With existing digital distribution capabilities under performing up to this point, we are thrilled to join forces with IODA to create a whole new area of growth for the independent music community in Spain."
IODA and iDfd will both speak at Digital Music 2.0 in Barcelona, Spain taking place June 17 and 18, 2008. Kevin Arnold will speak at the conference's opening session on June 17. DiscMedi's Matias Chimirri will speak on June 18 on a panel titled "Secrets of Digital Distribution: Protagonists in Catalonia come Face to Face."
About IODA
IODA, the Independent Online Distribution Alliance, is the industry-leading digital distribution company for the global independent music community. IODA provides comprehensive services to record labels, physical distributors, and artists, including license negotiations; media encoding and metadata management; and royalty payment administration and reporting. The company also offers promotional support through a dedicated marketing division and through the IODA Promonet (www.iodapromonet.com), a promotional distribution network that provides qualified podcasts, blogs, and other promotional sites with access to pre-cleared, legal music and other promotional assets from IODA's labels. Founded in 2003, IODA represents a rapidly expanding roster of over a million tracks from thousands of independent labels around the globe. IODA was named one of FORTUNE magazine's 25 Breakout Companies for 2005. The company's website is www.iodalliance.com.
About DiscMedi
Founded in 1989, DiscMedi is a leading record label, publisher and distribution company of independent music in Spain. DiscMedi works with clients across all genres of music, including rock, classical jazz, folk, Latin music, electronica, traditional and Americana. DiscMedi has an extensive network of distributors that make DiscMedi's albums available around the world. In addition to working with the independent music community in Spain, DiscMedi also licenses and distributes international releases in Spain. DiscMedi is the exclusive representative in Spain of such acclaimed and rewarding companies like Alligator Records (USA), Cooking Vinyl (UK), Yep Roc (USA), The Leaf Label (UK), Silva Screen (UK), Nettwerk (Canada), Biscoito Fino (Brazil) and Barsuk (USA).
