FUGA, the world’s leading full-service B2B distributor, has signed a deal with Mascot Label Group, the independent label family home to artists such as Black Stone Cherry, Beth Hart, Shaman’s Harvest, Vola and Dragged Under.

Supporting Mascot’s recent expansion of its digital arm, FUGA will now handle the distribution across its six imprints, Mascot Records, Provogue Records, Music Theories Recordings, Cool Green Records, The Funk Garage and The Players Club. This includes its existing catalog of more than six thousand songs, as well as all new releases. Mascot will also benefit from FUGA’s global marketing expertise, including DSP and editorial-focussed services such as playlist-targeting and user-generated content.

CEO of Mascot Ed van Zijl said, “We have seen digital become more and more a part of our world and our turnover, and have been considering what we want streaming to be for us. We are delighted to have finally made our decision to join FUGA – a decision that we feel most powerfully maintains our independence.”

Anneke Stulp, General Manager of FUGA Benelux, added, “We are very excited to be working closely with the globally esteemed Mascot Label Group to support their digital goals and provide their talented roster with quality distribution services. We look forward to helping a completely independent label continue their ever-growing digital performance with our support and insight.”

Alongside this, FUGA has extended its delivery of immersive audio to TIDAL, and has already delivered Dolby Atmos-mixed tracks from clients including Anjunabeats and Ninja Tune. Members subscribing to TIDAL’s HiFi Plus tier will be able to access the immersive audio format. Announced in late 2021, TIDAL’s HiFi Plus membership tier also offers fan-centered royalties and direct-to-artist payments, a first step in creating tools that prioritize the artist experience, as well as transparency and revenue features.

“We’re delighted to give our members access to more immersive audio experiences and to give Independent labels more options to deliver music in Dolby Atmos,” said TIDAL’s Chief Operating Officer, Lior Tibon. “With the power of FUGA backing Indie labels, and the expertise of our teams at TIDAL, this is a move that will truly enhance the music listening experience on TIDAL.”

This follows FUGA’s initial move into immersive audio last year, when it became the first B2B distributor to deliver spatial audio for Apple Music.

Harmen Hemminga, FUGA’s Head of Partnerships & Strategic Projects, had this to say, “With the positive reception of immersive audio by audiences and growing adoption of the new format, we're seeing artists and labels create new listener experiences as well as creative possibilities for the remixing of live recordings and reinterpretation of back catalog releases. With TIDAL’s focus on high quality audio experiences, it was only natural to work with their team to make it possible for all FUGA clients to deliver immersive audio to the service using our array of delivery technologies.”

About FUGA
FUGA is the leading full-service B2B music distributor in the world. Mixing deep marketing prowess with continual investment in leading technologies, FUGA’s clients – from Armada, Better Noise and Curb to Mom + Pop, mtheory and Ninja Tune – get equal access to its all-encompassing services.
Owned by Downtown Music Holdings, FUGA is one of the very few distributors to sit on the highest preferred partner tiers for Spotify, Apple and all other major DSPs.
FUGA’s global marketing team operates across 17 countries. Together with marketing and distribution, FUGA’s holistic product and services suite – including analytics, royalty accounting, neighbouring rights, rights management and white label services – empower over 800 music rights holders globally.
www.fuga.com

About Mascot Label Group
Mascot Label Group is a one hundred percent independently owned and operated record label group, originally founded in 1989. Originally from the Netherlands, MLG is now a global-reaching company with offices in Europe and the United States, and a member of the American Association of Independent Music (A2IM). The group specialises in rock, metal and blues, with notable upcoming releases from Steve Vai, Eric Gales, Beth Hart, Warren Haynes and Steve Lukather.
www.mascotlabelgroup.com

About TIDAL
TIDAL is an artist-led global music and entertainment streaming platform that aims to create a sustainable, artist-first and fan-centric business model for the music industry. With innovative experimental features like direct-to-artist payments and fan-centered royalties, TIDAL is empowering artists to redefine their place in the music industry. Available in 61 countries, the streaming service has more than 80 million songs and 350,000 high-quality videos in its catalog, along with original video series, podcasts, thousands of expertly curated playlists, and artist discovery via TIDAL Rising. TIDAL is available in Free, HiFi, and HiFi Plus tiers, with the HiFi Plus membership offering access to immersive audio features like Master Quality Authenticated (MQA) recordings, Dolby Atmos Music, and Sony's 360 Reality Audio recordings. TIDAL is part of Block, Inc., a global technology firm creating better tools to expand access to the economy.
For more information, please visit www.tidal.com.