IODA
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| Private | |
| Industry | Music & entertainment |
| Genre | Various |
| Founded | 2003 |
| Founder | Kevin Arnold |
| Headquarters | San Francisco, CA, United States |
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Area served
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Worldwide |
|
Key people
|
Kevin Arnold |
| Services | Digital distribution, marketing, technology, media encoding, metadata management |
| Parent | Sony Music Entertainment |
| Subsidiaries | IODA Promonet IODA Marketing IODAcast |
| Website | iodalliance.com |
IODA (Independent Online Distribution Alliance) — now The Orchard — is a global sales, marketing and distribution company with majority stake owned by Sony servicing independent artists, labels, filmmakers and other content providers on hundreds of digital and mobile outlets around the world, including making copyright claims on online content.
Founded in 2003, IODA provides various distribution, marketing, publishing and administrative services to selected independent record labels, physical distributors, video companies, recording artists, filmmakers, print media publishers and independent authors, including license negotiations, media encoding and metadata management, royalty payment administration and reporting, and marketing and promotional support
On July 1, 2009, Sony Music Entertainment and IODA announced their global strategic partnership to leverage combined worldwide online retail distribution networks and complementary technologies to support independent labels and music rightsholders.
IODA has relationships with major mobile and online download retailers including iTunes, eMusic, Rhapsody and Amazon.com.
On March 5, 2012, Billboard reported that IODA and The Orchard were merging, with Sony Music Entertainment serving as a strategic investor in the combined entity. The report suggested that Sony, which already owned 51% of IODA, would accelerate the acquisition of the remainder of the company to complete the deal with the Orchard. The following day, IODA and The Orchard announced an agreement to combine their global digital distribution businesses in a merged company called The Orchard. Sony, which owns 50% of the new venture, has the option to buy the remainder of the merged company at a later date.
IODA is affiliated with more than 100 labels, including the following:
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