Topspin and Essential Forge Unique Marketing Partnership

• Topspin training Essential’s marketing team as prime UK agents22nd November 2010:- Topspin Media have selected Essential Music & Marketing as a privileged UK agent, in a deal which will see the Topspin’s powerful marketing platform being made available across Essential’s artists and labels. Essential’s marketing team have been trained by Topspin’s own staff in the effective implementation of Topspin’s groundbreaking direct-to-fan marketing and sales technology.Since topping Billboard’s “Indie Visionaries” list in 2008, Topspin have become the first port of call for artists and labels seeking to manage their targeted marketing and direct-to-consumer sales.At its core Topspin offers a comprehensive set of marketing and sales tools, implemented and managed by Topspin themselves and by specialist agents, and also available self-service on a revenue-sharing basis for artists, labels and managers to use themselves.Artists can create embeddable widgets, so that the sales interface can be placed where the fan is – on the artist’s website and Facebook page, on blogs and in online articles. With some of the best analytics in the business, they can track geographical and demographic information on their fans, knowing who to market to and when, and measure the spending habits and social reach of key fans through their blog and social network followings.Fulfillment of digital sales is carried out by Topspin. Physical fulfillment of merchandise and music orders will be provided through Essential’s existing distribution networks.For the fan, Topspin’s system allows them to access offers, stream music and purchase products from one-off signed pieces of merchandise to digital music in multiple formats (including lossless FLACs) all from within the artists’ own websites and social spaces.Shamal Ranasinghe, Topspin Co-founder, commented, “Essential has always been a critical marketing and distribution partner to artists, and Topspin is excited to officially join forces to provide our direct-to-fan marketing platform as a key offering in their services. We’re delighted that our first campaign is with Cooking Vinyl, a legendary and globally recognized independent label.Mike Chadwick, Founder and MD of Essential, added, “Topspin are the market leaders in the Direct to Fan marketplace and understand how to build and manage a fanbase like no-one else. Their innovative tools and direct marketing knowledge will bring new elements of creativeness to our campaigns that can only benefit our labels and artists.”About EssentialEssential Music & Marketing has been redefining the roles of distributor and record label since its inception in 2003 by Mike Chadwick, former MD Vital Distribution and Martin Goldschmidt, owner of Cooking Vinyl Records.Founded to offer all-in-one marketing and distribution services to select North American independent labels seeking to release across the UK and Europe, Essential now also work with self-releasing artists and independent labels from across the UK and beyond.Services include physical and digital sales and distribution and a burgeoning package of product management activities ranging from overall strategy, targeting featured artists and sourcing remixes through to recruitment of 3rd party specialists and digital marketing.Labels and artists with service deals with Essential include Noisia, Zinc, Cheap Thrills, New West, Vagrant Records, Ed Harcourt, Cyndi Lauper, Feeder, Ash, R&S, JME, Sandi Thom.Labels distributed by Essential include Cooking Vinyl, Stones Throw, Surrender All, Big Teeth Music, Fat Possum.Essential is part of the Cooking Vinyl group, which comprises of Cooking Vinyl Records, Essential Music & Marketing and Cooking Vinyl Music Publishing, which is run by Paul Kinder, a former director at Chrysalis.www.essential-music.comAbout Topspin MediaTopspin is the industry-leading software platform for direct-to-fan marketing and retail. Topspin is the tool of choice for professional labels, management companies, and marketing service companies who have successfully used Topspin’s tools to run campaigns for more than 3,000 artists from Paul McCartney and George Harrison to Linkin Park and Eminem.www.topspinmedia.com