British independent label Dirty Hit, home to The 1975 and Wolf Alice, has signed an exclusive global digital distribution deal with Ingrooves Music Group.
Terms were not disclosed for the deal, which builds on an existing partnership between the two parties that stretches back to Dirty Hit’s first releases nearly a decade ago.
Having been a minority stakeholder since 2006, Universal Music Group fully acquired Ingrooves in February. Dirty Hit also has strong ties with the music major and has licensing deals in place with Polydor and Interscope for The 1975.
“Ingrooves has been my historical partner from the inception of Dirty Hit. We have a rhythm that few others probably understand,” founder and CEO Jamie Oborne tells Billboard.
He says the company’s acquisition by Universal “only strengthened” his desire to re-up Dirty Hit’s distribution deal with Ingrooves, which continues to operate as an independent entity within UMG, but is able to call upon its vast resources and international network as it looks to expand into new markets.
“It just felt like a perfect storm of allies and the right people to move forward as we grow the business, particularly with our focus on building out our domestic U.S. arm,” says Oborne, who calls Ingrooves “one of the few digital distribution networks that is built for purpose and evolving for purpose.”
“To be aligned with Jamie and Dirty Hit, who have been so incredibly successful in the marketplace and brought some incredible new acts to bear, is a great affiliation for us,” adds Ingrooves CEO Bob Roback.
“We consider it a great validation of our evolution that Jamie has been enthusiastic about signing up to work us on a worldwide basis and really cementing that partnership,” he says “It’s the perfect model for how we like to work with our clients and, in this case, one of the best in the business.”
Looking ahead, Oborne says his goal is for Dirty Hit to further grow its global reach in conjunction with Ingrooves and that their partnership “continues to deepen.”
“I feel that’s a very realistic objective and I feel lucky to be in business with such smart and progressive people,” he says.
As well as the 1975 and Wolf Alice, artists signed to the U.K. label include Pale Waves, The Japanese House, Marika Hackman and hotly-tipped Manila-born, London-raised singer-songwriter Beabadoobee, who Oborne predicts will become “one of the key releases of 2020 not just for us, but within the industry.”
1975’s fourth album, Notes on a Conditional Form, is scheduled for release Feb. 1, 2020.