Hypebot’s New Music Industry Briefing For Thursday September 8th, 2006
– Forging ahead of the majors again, indie digital distributor The Orchard has cut a deal with China’s leading digital distributor top100.cn. (Read the details in a press release after the jump below)
– It looks like January for the Apple iPod phone. (ThinkSecret)
– The Metropoltan Opera as made a deal sith Sirius to launch an opera sattelite channel. (Reuters)
– LI, NY indie record store Looney Tunes isn’t going anywhere after 34 years. (Newsday via Coolfer)
– UK’s Output Recordings calls it quits and goes out with a rant against the industry. (FutureMusic)
For Immediate Release
THE ORCHARD LICENSES CATALOGUE TO TOP100.CN,
CHINA
’S TOP LEGAL DIGITAL MUSIC SERVICE
Ground-Breaking Deal Brings World’s Largest Library of Western Independent Music to China
NEW YORK – September 21, 2006 – The Orchard, the world’s leading digital distributor and marketer of independent music, today announced a ground-breaking licensing deal with top100.cn, one of China’s first legal online music services and the country’s largest in terms of content. Under the agreement, The Orchard’s catalogue becomes one of the first Western independent music libraries available for legal download in
China
.
“
China
accounts for half of the home broadband connections in all of Asia Greg Scholl
China
– as we have in other highly pirated markets with great promise, such as
Russia
– through our partnership with top100.cn.”
“As we continue to grow top100.cn’s position as China’s leading digital music source, The Orchard’s catalogue goes a long way toward expanding the selection of international music available to our customers,” said Gary Chen, co-chairman & CEO of top100.cn. “We are looking forward to working with The Orchard to grow the audience for Western independent music in China
“Music has been an integral part of the Chinese civilization for the last 4,000 years and The Orchard’s licensing arrangement with top100.cn marks an important milestone of music and cultural exchanges between
China
and the West. I am honored and privileged to be part of it, and personally, am excited that great, cutting-edge Western music can now be enjoyed by my countrymen and women,” said Yao Ming.
Top100.cn was launched in Beijing early 2006 by Orca Digital, a digital media company founded by Houston Rockets NBA star Yao Ming, industry pioneer Gary G. Chen (Chen Ge), and Ming’s agent, Erik Zhang. The licensing agreement between The Orchard and top100.cn was spearheaded by Daniel Cheung, managing director of The Orchard’s Asia
About top100.cn
Top100.cn is a pioneering legitimate digital music store and mobile service with the largest content offerings in China
The Orchard is the world’s leading digital distributor and marketer of independent music, with a catalogue of more than one million tracks representing 73 countries, thousands of labels, and every music genre. This catalogue includes titles from multi-platinum acts such as Green Day, Coldplay, Ray Charles, and Barenaked Ladies, as well as from breaking bands like The Hold Steady, Bedouin Soundclash, and Immortal Technique. The Orchard supplies all the leading legal digital music stores and mobile operators throughout the world and markets its labels’ catalogues for sync song placements in films, commercials, and television shows. The company is owned by Dimensional Associates, the private equity arm of JDS Capital Management, Inc. whose portfolio companies also include eMusic and Dimensional Music Publishing. The Orchard is headquartered in
New York
and London
Media Contacts
For The Orchard
Paul Verna
Director of Corporate Communications
The Orchard
212-300-2824
Jonathan Morrish
The Outside Organisation
011-44-20-7436-3633
jonathan.morrish@outside-org.co.uk
For top100.cn
Veronica Li
Assistant to CEO
Orca Digital Inc.
+86 10 85653248(o); +86 13910820677
