Razor & Tie Cut Across the Atlantic with Essential
Razor & Tie sign with Essential for distribution and label services in Europe- Thirty Tigers, UNFD and Hidden Pony also join Essential’s stable
- Halo 4 soundtrack to be distributed throughout EU by Essential
- Essential also claims three simultaneous UK Top 20 albums
21st June, London:- Independent UK distributor Essential Music & Marketing can now add rock powerhouse Razor & Tie, Nashville based eclectic label Thirty Tigers, Canadian label Hidden Pony and Australian major player Staple Group’s label UNFD to its ever expanding roster of leading independent labels. Essential will also be distributing the soundtrack for video game Halo 4, the eighth instalment of the multi-billion dollar science fiction franchise. This news alongside three simultaneous UK Top 20 albums cements Essential’s status as a leading player in international distribution.Claiming the mantle of the largest independently owned music company in North America, Razor & Tie has become a well respected name in the rock market with artists that include All That Remains, Foreigner, Richard Ashcroft and Chelsea Grin. The label has signed a distribution and label services deal with Essential covering the UK and Europe. The deal officially kicks off with multi-platinum act P.O.D whose new album Murdered Love is due for release in mid-July.Since its inception in 2002, Nashville based Thirty Tigers has cultivated a reputation of genuine independent support through a host of artists ranging from Americana and bluegrass through pop. Thirty Tigers has signed a European distribution and label services deal with Essential as well as Canadian label, Hidden Pony. Started by Mike Renaud and Donald Tarlton the Hidden Pony represents burgeoning Canuck talent such as Rah Rah, Said The Whale, Jeremy Fisher, Elephant Stone and The Danks.Eight years ago Staple group began as a merger of two exciting musical startups, now the group has tripled in size and can claim a chain of night clubs, an innovative marketing company, an international booking agency and a record label in its group. The label, We Are Unified (UNFD) has signed to Essential for a distribution and services deal to UK and Europe in order to bring their services offered in those territories to the next level. Over the summer they have two exciting releases – Notorious from the metalcore band Buried in Verona and Crooked Teeth, the second album to come from their fellow Ozzy rockers House vs Hurricane.Based on themes of alien invasion and interplanetary warfare, the Halo franchise has evolved in its decade of existence to include graphic novels, action figures and an increasingly exceptional soundtrack. The soundtracks to Halo 2, Halo 3, ODST and Reach all appeared on the Billboard 200 charts for at least one week and Halo 3’s soundtrack was recorded using a 60-piece orchestra, along with a 24-voice chorus. British record producer and score composer Neil Davidge will be the lead composer for the soundtrack of Halo 4 and it will be distributed by Essential in a services deal spanning Europe.Three Essential artists also simultaneously recently made the coveted UK Top 20 album chart, a first in the history of Essential Music and Marketing. All ranking in the same week (28 May 2012), The Cult came in at #20, Paul Buchanan at # 14 and The Enemy highest at #9.John Franck, Senior Vice President of Marketing for Razor & Tie comments, “We’re thrilled to be partnering up with the Essential Music family in the UK and Europe. Now more than ever, Razor & Tie is dedicated to growing its roster on a global level and we believe this is a pivotal strategic alliance for both our companies.”Mike Chadwick, Founder and Managing Director of Essential Music and Marketing said “Essential Music and Marketing is really pleased to be signing up such venerable international labels; Razor & Tie particularly has been in our sights for a while and to have them on board is a real coup. These North American partnerships are exactly where we want to be expanding as a company and having such success so early on for our US office is a testament to the ability of our US CEO Erik Gilbert and his team”
Essential 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.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. Essential expanded into North America in late 2011 by opening an office in New York, run by Erik Gilbert.www.essential-music.com