TuneCore Launches in Russia and Brazil
TuneCore, the digital music distribution service provider for independent artists, has launched in Russia and Brazil, the company announced today. These openings mark the ninth and tenth countries with local TuneCore hires, and the company says it has several more planned in the coming year.
Both Russian and Brazilian music markets will be supported by TuneCore country managers on the ground as well as dedicated local language websites in Russian and Portuguese.
TuneCore, which is owned by Paris-based music distributor Believe, enables independent artists to distribute their music to the company’s network of over 150 digital stores and streaming services across the globe, including Spotify, iTunes/Apple Music, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, TikTok and Deezer. Artists retain 100 percent of their sales revenue and rights for an annual flat fee.
In Russia, newly appointed Head of TuneCore Russia, Ivan Ivanov will partner with leading local music aggregator UMA as well as the local digital music store, Yandex on behalf of TuneCore and its artists. Ivanov most recently worked at Yoola, a global YouTube multi-channel network with over 1.5 billion subscribers.
“The Russian music market has enjoyed exponential year over year growth, largely due to the bridge between social media and streaming services,” said Ivanov. “The launch of TuneCore Russia is an investment in the country’s burgeoning local music scene and I’m very excited to have a role that empowers Russian independent artists to distribute their music worldwide and grow their careers, without giving up their rights or revenue.”
Heading up TuneCore Brazil is Bruno Duque. Bruno began his career at Sony Music in Los Angeles in the Latin Music Division, and most recently was Marketing Manager at iMusica, a digital content distributor in Latin America.
“Brazil is a country with a diverse and creative culture, which heavily influences its music. Choosing Brazil for the newest TuneCore office speaks volumes to the company’s dedication to supporting independent artists across all musical genres,” stated Duque. “I’m excited to join TuneCore Brazil, especially as digital music and streaming services continue to grow and invigorate the local music scene.”
Ivanov will report jointly to Andreea Gleeson, Chief Marketing Officer of TuneCore as well as Viktoria Siniavskaia, Managing Director Russia, Eastern Europe and META of TuneCore parent Believe. Duque also reports to both Gleeson, and Alejandra Olea, Managing Director, Americas for Believe.
“TuneCore’s global expansion is one that we approach very thoughtfully, yet confidently. Both Russia and Brazil are key markets for independent artists, having seen exponential growth in recent years due to the availability of digital music and the accelerated growth of streaming services,” commented Gleeson. “By expanding our local team and localizing our website to Russian and Portuguese, we demonstrate our support of artists with dedicated local executives who not only speak the same language as our artists but also live and breathe the same culture. Bruno and Ivan are industry veterans with extensive understanding of independent artist needs in their markets and believe deeply in our vision to support all artists, at all stages of their careers. I am delighted they have joined our team.”
Earlier this year TuneCore launched in India, and expanded into Germany, France and Italy in 2016, the UK and Australia markets in 2015, while TuneCore Japan and TuneCore Canada have had similar localized services since 2012 and 2011, respectively.
More from Variety
Best of Variety
Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
