(M2D) Music2Deal would like to introduce you to our VIP partner Mr. Allen Johnston aka The Music Specialist. Allen a digital distribution company owner at Sony / The Orchard for over 16 years, has held the position of Director of Urban sales for the K-Tel Corporation, Simitar & associated labels, VP sales for Mind Seed Corporation, Southeast regional director of promotion for Arista, EMI, Ariola and Fantasy Records. He was co-owner of Joey Boy Records, J.R. Records, On Top Records. American Faith Records, Joey boy Publishing BMI, Beam of Light Publishing ASCAP, To Soon To tell Publishing Sesac and Bazooka Filmworks.
(Allen Johnston)
ON TOP RECORDS, LLC has been around for many years, but a new, more formal collaboration between Allen Johnston (The Music Specialist) and Jose Armada Jr. (ON TOP RECORDS, LLC) promises to send the label to new heights. Johnston and Armada have worked together for over 20 years and have developed hundreds of positive revenue projects. Now the two are looking forward to even bigger and better things.
(AJ) After having run a digital distribution company via Sony / The Orchard for 15 years, I have seen firsthand the many problems that face independent artists.
I spoke with my old partner Jose Armada, and we found a common thread.
In fact, Jose Armada says “Allen and I have the same goal. We want to assist those who need help distributing their music and music videos, with an emphasis on independent labels and artists. We have the tools and expertise to make that happen.
(Allen Johnston & Jose Armada)
(M2D) What do you see as the problems facing independent artists and labels today?
(AJ) Our focus is on independent labels and artists; Music is a business. You can have the most talented artist or record label, and if they don’t know the business end of it – i.e., how to get their music and music videos distributed, played, and how to collect compensation for those, they will probably either fail or spend much more money than necessary. A lot of artists spend money on things that they don’t need to. We guide them through the entire process, even assisting them with their social media sites. To say that we help them with TIK TOK, Spotify, Facebook, and YouTube would be just scratching the surface.
(M2D) Is there any particular genre of music that you are interested in?
(AJ) ON TOP RECORDS, LLC works with all genres of music, but over the last 15 years, Latin music has dominated its roster. We work with artists and labels from Mexico to Central and South America, Puerto Rico, Spain, the Santo Domingo, and other continents and countries. Music is universal, and so are our efforts. Our current combined catalog also has music from Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, France, Germany, Bangladesh, India and of course multiple labels from the United States. Technology allows us to work audio, video, podcasts, movies, audio books and more within 600 destinations in 190 countries. Every major DSP (Digital Service Provider) has been added to our growing list of outlets, and we continue to monitor the social media sites marketing and promotion opportunities.
We have not limited ourselves to any one language and now have workers that are fluent in many different languages and cultures.
(M2D) I see that you are continuing to grow and expand. Are there any plans for the near future?
(AJ) We are actively looking for companies that want to expand their business footprint and develop positive revenue streams. To this end we offer three (3) tiers of accounting solutions that cater to the needs of labels of any size and level of complexity. Our client platform is an intuitive one stop shop that consolidates distribution, marketing and financial services and proprietary solutions. We oversee Neighboring Rights, Sound Exchange collections and other related matters.
One of the largest revenue streams available is video monetization and our video strategy is designed to increase exposure and generate revenue through the collections of royalties and claims.
(M2D) Is there anything else you would like to let our members know?
(AJ) Yes, there is no upfront charge for any of our services. We make money when our clients make money and clients that follow our direction see an increase in their revenue streams monthly.
I want to thank you Mario and the entire Music2Deal staff for continuing to be the leader in professional networking and opportunities. And of course for allowing me the platform to discuss our new business.
Links:
Allen Johnston
The Music2Deal Blog 