Sam Ford’s Tone City Records Partners With Ingrooves (EXCLUSIVE)

Sam Ford’s Tone City Records will get a window to the music world through a partnership with Ingrooves Music Group, the U.S.-based distribution, digital marketing and tech specialist, TMN can reveal.

Due to be unveiled today (July 12), the deal is seen as a pivotal one for the newly-formed TCR and its six-strong roster, who, going forward, will be pumped through Ingrooves’ international network.

Ford, a Perth scene builder and producer who has worked with the likes of Psychedelic Porn Crumpets, Birds of Tokyo and POND, launched TCR earlier this year as an extension to his Tone City Recording Studio.

In a matter of months, TCR has assembled a roster with DICE, Siobhan Cotchin, Nectar, Supathick, Romeo Walker and Madoc Plane.

The Tone City Records Roster: Sam Ford with DICE, Siobhan Cotchin, Nectar, Supathick, Romeo Walker, Madoc Plane

Its signings are “blooming out of Western Australia,” comments Rubi Piekalns, senior label and business development manager at Ingrooves. “We are excited to work with Sam and the team to help them grow their audience in Australia and beyond.”

The first release through the new deal was DICE’s “The Search,” which dropped July 1.

Next up, Madoc Plane will take flight with “Right Reasons” next Thursday (July 21), followed by Siobhan Cotchin’s “Fill My Cup” (Aug 24), and Supathick’s “Own My Mind” (Sept. 2).

“Teamwork is everything at TCR,” adds Ford, “and I can’t wait to see what the future holds in partnership with our new friends at Ingrooves.”

Ford’s career as a producer began for his band The Silents, for whom he played bass.

He went on to build the studio in Scarborough, complete with a living room ambience to give recording artists a stress-free taste of home.

Ford officially presented Tone City Records at Freo Social on Feb. 26.

Sam Ford

At the time, Ford told TMN that TCR is “like a family.” The label is “built on the artists and myself having the same vision, ambitions and having a mutual connection both creatively and through personal and working relationships,” he continued.

TCR arrived with an Artist Development Program that allows its acts to upskill through mentorships throughout the artist’s project including production, mixing, marketing, release schedule and event management.

Ingrooves Music Group has offices throughout North America, Latin America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and in Australia, with a presence set up in 2020 and led by former Spotify executive Nina Rabe-Cairns.

The business was founded in 2002, and acquired in 2019 by Universal Music Group, the world’s biggest music company.