Aussie-owned digital distributor Noisehive is out of beta, ready for business

After taking on clients by referral only since 2015, Australian digital music distribution company Xelon Entertainment has opened up its Noisehive platform to the public.

The new platform was unofficially launched this morning (November 13) in Sydney at the Electronic Music Conference, where Xelon’s Arlo Enemark will also present a workshop on how a self-releasing artist can run a label.

Noisehive was created with a goal to provide an alternative to major distributors and web-based aggregators, and has grown to 150—200 label and artist partners.

Others include Central Station Records, Neon Records, LNG Music and Bush Records, while its artist roster features Kayex, Made In Paris, and Golden Features.

NYUON came to them after winning the Melbourne Music Bank prize.

Enemark, A&R and digital distribution at Xelon, and one-time label manager for club imprint Medium Rare Recordings, heard Kids At Midnight on triple j. Chasing Ghosts was a friend from his youth, others he met at gigs.

According to Kids at Midnight, Xelon are “They’re trustworthy and hands-on.

“It’s nice to know an actual person is handling your releases and that at any time you can chat with them about the ins and outs of it all,” say the band. “That’s a great resource for an independent artist!”

Aside from its Melbourne HQ, Noisehive has offices in Seattle and London, and a strong hub in Nashville.

However, Enemark is reluctant to talk specifics about growing numbers, but reveals the platform is set up for 1,000 partners.

“There are a lot of artists who have got fed up with web-based services or have never had a distributor before, or maybe have released things on labels but also want to do side projects.

“So there’s plenty of opportunity.”

“During that time we learned a lot about self-releasing artists and best practises,” he adds. “We’ve gained a lot of insight to how people can get off to a good start to releasing their own music.”

Recently the platform simplified the delivery process of releases, archived artist statements and begun to make automated payments into artists’ accounts.

“But the crux is the same,” Enemark emphasises. “We’re a commission-based service that puts itself into a partnership with artists to make sure we do well when the artist does well.

“We have a sign-up fee but we don’t sell on-top. We don’t offer marketing at this stage or offer packages.

“But we do offer support like playlist pitching and video monetising as part of our focus on developing the artists’ to get the most out of their releases.

“We want to be able to provide the infrastructure that is normally there for big labels and make that available to independent artists. They’re not our clients, they are our partners.

“We’re not just a website company, we’re all music industry people and music lovers so it’s important for us to have that connection.”