
TROY, Mich.(Handleman Company) - Artist To Market Distribution (A2M) today announced it has entered into an agreement with punk rock pioneers Unwritten Law, to be the exclusive distributor of their upcoming new album Hit List. The album, scheduled to be released in August, features 17 of Unwritten Law's greatest hits, plus 2 brand new studio tracks. It will carry a suggested retail price of $9.99.
As with A2M's prior agreements, the direct relationship between Unwritten Law and A2M streamlines the supply chain through bypassing the traditional music label infrastructure. This allows the album to be offered at an attractive price to consumers, while enabling retailers to achieve a fair profit margin.
Les Borsai, Manager of Unwritten Law, stated, "Major labels are no longer in the business of band development. They need to break a single quickly, and if that doesn't happen you are left with no attention. You also need to compete with large rosters and limited marketing dollars. The A2M model solves these problems, because it allows more time to work a record. Artists should be able to have a career selling 100,000 units per cycle. The greatest thing about this deal is it allows the artist to retain ownership of their masters, creating a greater motivation to get our music placed."
Paul Ignasinski, General Manager of A2M, commented, "Unwritten Law has built a career and an extremely loyal fan base by always doing things their own way. They're innovators, they challenge convention, and it's that attitude and approach that makes them a perfect fit with A2M. It's exciting to partner with them as they move into the next phase of their career, and help them bring new music to their fans at a very competitive price."
Borsai added, "$10 for 19 songs is an amazing list price for an impulse buyer."
Borsai has assembled a team of music industry veterans to act as a virtual record label. Marketing and promotion will be led by Randy Miller, with publicity by Kymm Britton of 60 Cycle Media. To complement its sales and distribution capabilities, A2M has also partnered with a third party sales consultant firm, Rocket Science LLC, to handle sales solicitation, retail marketing and retail account interaction.