Blend announces record label and distribution deal, giving musicians and fans more control over their music

NYC  - Blend (http://blend.io), the premier music collaboration platform, has partnered with the distribution powerhouse The Orchard to offer its community of producers and musicians a digital distribution outlet via the official Blend.io label (https://blend.io/label)

Blend sees the addition of a record label as a natural progression of the expanding platform by providing everything a music producer needs in one place: inspiration, collaboration, record deals, and distribution. By partnering with The Orchard, a music distributor that amplifies reach and revenue across hundreds of digital, physical and mobile outlets around the world, the Blend label is able to deliver music through a proven infrastructure to every digital music outlet.

Blend has managed to democratize the music publishing process and puts more control in the hands of its artists. It's easy to see which songs and remixes gain the most notoriety in the vibrant Blend community as Blend members vote for their favorite pieces and engage with the music of their preferred producers. When a song or remix reaches a certain level of votes, it has a good chance of being included in the label's line-up. This way, the decision of which pieces makes it to publication is not up to one executive but is made by a vote of peers - a revolutionary new model for music distribution.

"We don't want to be arbiters of taste," said Kolundzija in a recent interview with Billboard Magazine. "We want to see what's happening with the platform and if there's activity around certain projects we want to give those projects a bigger stage and the label and distribution deal allows us to do that."

The label (https://blend.io/label) will develop up and coming talent as well established artists who are interested in new and innovative ways to connect, engage and create with their fans. Apart from the instant audience on Blend, the label will support marketing and help the artists to monetize their work through distribution.

"We built the label arm to further inspire and empower our users and artists. We continue to see how our platform encourages personal connection as well as workflow and creativity, and with our new capabilities we'll be able to further foster these relationships and give even more back to the community," adds Guy Licata, Blend Label Manager.

About Blend

Blend (http://blend.io) is a Betaworks backed startup for musicians and producers to connect and share in­-progress tracks and collaborate. On Blend, users share music projects in their native (source) format. Blend supports major music software tools including Ableton Live, Logic Pro, FL Studio, Reason, Pro Tools and Garageband. For more information, please visit http://blend.io.

About The Orchard
The Orchard, a pioneering independent music and video distribution company operating in more than 25 global markets, provides an innovative and comprehensive sales and marketing platform for content owners. With industry leading technology and operations, The Orchard's creative, tailored approach streamlines its clients' business complexity while amplifying reach and revenue across hundreds of digital and mobile outlets around the world, as well as physical retailers in North America and Europe. The Orchard was founded in 1997 to foster independence and creativity in the music industry.