Newsweek ran an interesting article about independent record distributor Alternative Distribution Alliance (ADA), the outfit responsible for selling 300,000 copies of the Arctic Monkeys debut CD. You might be surprised to know who is the corporate parent of this indie darling.
Strip away its indie pretensions and what you find is one of the biggest Big Daddies of them all”ā€¯Warner Music Group. That’s right: Warner Music, the industry giant that specializes in signing and breaking mega-acts like Madonna, Green Day and rapper T.I. (whose first-day record sales often top what an indie act sells in a year), is the power behind the most successful indie distributor in the business.