VP RECORDS’ VPAL DISTRIBUTION, IS KEEPING THE BEAT ALIVE!

Top: Israel Vibration—

 Bottom: (L) Macka B (R) Donovan Williams

WITH music sales experiencing a global meltdown in the past decade, independent companies like VP Records sought different ways to make money.

Six years ago, the Queens, New York label launched its VP Associated Label (VPAL) which distributes music by artists and producers looking to tap into mainstream and remote markets.

Donovan Williams, label manager at VPAL, said 2015 has been its most productive year.

“It has been a good year, we’ve seen substantial growth on the distribution and the production side and we’ve gotten inquiries from so many independent artists, producers & managers worldwide about our services,” Williams told the Sunday Observer.

He said VPAL distributed over 50 digital albums, nearly 500 singles and six physical (compact discs) albums in 2015. The digital/CD albums include Israel Vibration’s Play It Real, Urban Poet from Junior Kelly and Never Played A 45 by British deejay Macka B.

Albums due out this month are Diamond Sox from Iba Mahr, and Raging Fyah’s Destiny and Judgement Day, which will be re-released.

Under the VPAL arrangement, the company partners with artists and producers to distribute their product through VP’s extensive network of 600 online and mobile destinations in 100 territories. In turn, VPAL earns a percentage of  the sales.

Williams pointed to a perennially strong region for reggae as VPAL’s most vibrant market.

“We’ve seen increased growth in Europe for finished products on many of our releases, including Iba Mahr, Macka B, Raging Fyah, to name a few,” he said.

Japan and the emerging Australia/New Zealand region have also done well for VPAL and its clients.

Those fortunes are consistent with recent positive trends in the music industry, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI).

In April, the IFPI reported that overall digital revenues for 2014 increased by 6.9 per cent to $6.85 billion, slightly ahead of $6.82 billion for physical music sales, which suffered an eight per cent slump.

According to Frances Moore, CEO of the IFPI, the music industry is “on the road to recovery”.

Donovan Williams is hoping VPAL closes the year on a high with acknowledgement from the music industry’s most respected organisation.

“A Grammy nod would be a great recognition for any label, but a bigger accomplishment for the artist,” he said.