WJO Distribution enters new phase with UMA

WJO Distribution, the independent music company heavily aligned with country music, has partnered with Universal Music Australia.

The partnership marks a new phase for WJO, which will for the first time have its releases distributed through an outside company.

Launched six years ago by childhood friends Will Osland and Drew Doran with just $100, WJO Distribution now represents over 1000 titles and handles all aspects of business for independent artists including physical, digital, publishing and licensing, a bespoke radio delivery service, marketing and rights management worldwide.Its artists include Graeme Connors, Melinda Schneider, Jetty Road, The Sunny Cowgirls and mainstream acts including Suzi Quatro.

Former artist and WJO co-owner Will Osland told TMNthat while WJO has been approached by various labels in the past, they never felt the need to team with another music company.

"Drew and I have been best mates since we were kids. Our families have always been each other’s family basically, and I guess the business became like that as well, keeping everything in house and family oriented. In a way we never really noticed that we weren’t teaming up with anyone else, if there was something our label needed like a digital contract we simply went out there and got it ourselves.

"We have always watched Universal Music though, and have continually been impressed by their teams work ethic and on ground dedication, especially to Australia country. We had been approached by labels before, but it never seemed the right fit. This does though and we love that every time we meet with their team, they want to grow our label as much as we do, that’s a big thing in this industry. Dave [Parker, Senior Strategic Repertoire Manager, UMA]and his team mesh with ours, now that we’ve made the leap we know it’s the right decision."

Dave Parker, Senior Strategic Repertoire Manager, UMA told TMN:“UMA has always proudly been involved in country music across both local and international repertoire. We are continually looking to deepen our country roster and foster great talent. Being able to work with WJO is a privilege and we look forward to delivering success for their artists.”

“This relationship not only provides a wonderful platform for the release of WJO artists, but it secures Universal as the dominant country music company in Australia across both local and international rosters,” Parker said in a statement.

Beginning in June, WJO will release new releases with Universal and in the next 18 months selected titles from WJO’s roster will transition over to Universal while WJO phases out its own distribution operations, which includes shutting down its warehouse.

Image: WJO'sWill Osland and Drew Doran with Suzi Quatro
Source: WJO