After joining the Merlin network and developing their own client portal, they are now fully integrated with the Labelcamp REST API, allowing their teams to remotely manage the delivery of their catalog to the DSPs, autonomously and at scale.
Find out more about IndieMassiveâs business and services and why they choose to partner with Labelcamp in this interview with Josh Brust, Founder and CEO of the company.
IndieMassive is a breakthrough music technology and distribution company headquartered in Groningen, Netherlands. As part of the Actuation Group, IndieMassive and its sister companies operate as fully self-funded, independent entities dedicated to challenging the exploitative practices prevalent in the music industry. Founded by two independent musicians disillusioned with traditional record labels, IndieMassive has grown into a global enterprise. Today, the Actuation Group serves the independent music community with four platinum-selling independent labels, a market-leading music promotion company, and a direct music distribution service.
Our mission is to offer a secure and supportive haven for artists and labels. Historically, the industry has been plagued by unethical companies exploiting artists and labels through deceptive contract terms or misleading their position in the digital supply chain. Navigating this landscape without falling into these traps is challenging without deep insider knowledge.
We are fortunate to hold a significant influence in the industry without ever having relied on external funding, ensuring complete independence. This has allowed us to build a scalable platform that meets the needs of clients at any success level, providing services on par with major labels. Additionally, we serve as an ideal partner for newcomers, offering the essential support needed to start and succeed in this complex industry. In a landscape often dominated by impersonal, large-scale operations, we pride ourselves on being the community-focused choice that genuinely cares about its members.
Weâre often asked what we mean by this and our answer is rather simple: âReach out to us – youâll see exactly what we mean.â
Transparency, honesty, and humanity are qualities that are notably deficient in this industry. As an organization, we attribute much of our success to consistently embodying these principles in our operations. Our decision to enter the distribution space stemmed from the recognition that independent artists lacked access to these essential qualities. From our experience as artists, personalized support tends to only be available to priority clients at major or boutique distributors.
At IndieMassive, our team is made up of musicians and artist managers with decades of experience in the industry. I remember being in my high school library with a stack of blank CDs, burning my punk bandâs EP hundreds of times to hand out at shows. That personal, hands-on approach is something the indie community still craves, even though itâs mostly disappeared. Sharing your music and seeing real reactions is something that never gets old. But nowadays, that connection has been reduced to just watching numbers go up or down, making the whole experience feel cold and lifeless.
Thats why we created IndieMassive – to revive that feeling of teamwork and community in the distribution space.
Consequently, I would describe our local market as a vibrant and resilient community in need of guidance and representation from the companies they depend on for distribution, publishing, and label services.
At IndieMassive, we prioritize delivering high-quality services. When we embarked on building IndieMassive four years ago, we made a firm commitment: either we would work directly with Digital Service Providers (DSPs), or we wouldn’t pursue the project at allâthere was no alternative in our view. Whatever endeavor we undertake as an organization, we do so with a dedication to doing it right, even if it means facing significant challenges.
We recognized that while we could develop our own software to create the platform that we as musicians always wanted, another hurdle lay in establishing the supply chain with DSPs. Each DSP requires a unique connection that must be maintained with every update, demanding substantial development hours every week. Moreover, the details on how to build these feeds are only disclosed after securing a deal with the DSPs.
Given the limited time available for testing allowed by the DSPs and the potential for numerous bugs and errors at launch, we decided to find an experienced partner who could help us navigate these obstacles and ensure that our delivery feeds were top-quality from day-one.
This is when we discovered Labelcamp. Our initial meetings with Labelcamp took place in 2022, just as we were ready to start developing our supply chain. We reached an agreement for Labelcamp to establish and maintain our DSP feeds, ensuring that our platform would launch with stability. This partnership allowed us to remain true to our goal of being a direct distribution platform without involving any intermediaries.
We chose Labelcamp due to their exceptional track record and the elite roster of major players that they service. In 2022 we had an introductory meeting with them and it was clear from the start that their values as a business perfectly aligned with ours which gave us the confidence we needed to proceed with such a deal.
Our primary concern is to ensure our clients are treated equitably and their catalogs are managed responsibly. Labelcampâs API is designed to ensure seamless integration. As a result, whether we manage our feeds in-house or have Labelcamp maintain them, our clients would not notice or experience any difference. That made this an easy choice for us.