IODA Unveils Branded Download Stores

Independent Labels Get New Opportunity to Sell Direct to Consumers

San Francisco, CA — May 6, 2008 — IODA, the global leader in digital distribution, marketing, and technology solutions for the independent music industry, today announced the general availability of IODA Label Storesä, a unique download storefront solution that enables labels and artists to sell digital music directly to consumers. The announcement was made at the Digital NARM 2008 conference in San Francisco. IODA Label Stores expands upon the company’s existing suite of integrated marketing and distribution products and services with another way for independent artists to grow their businesses. Fully integrated into the company’s industry leading Rightsholder Dashboard, IODA Label Stores operates seamlessly with IODA’s catalog management, accounting, and marketing tools.

Last year, while participating in the beta program for IODA Label Stores, several IODA clients launched storefronts to drive their direct-to-consumer commerce strategies. Unlike major labels, independent labels such as Six Degrees Records, Paper Bag Records, Om Records, ABB Records, Birdman Records, and the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra (MSO Classics) are strong brands with loyal fan bases. IODA Label Stores provides these innovative labels with an effective way to leverage and build their brand equity.  IODA-powered storefronts currently offer high quality MP3s from artists such as Tokyo Police Club, Bebel Gilberto, Mark Farina, Little Brother, and Rhat Ali Khan.

“In a time when big box retailers are squeezing every last penny out of independent record labels, IODA Label Stores provides us with a way to get top-quality digital music directly to our fans using the latest Web 2.0 technologies and innovations,” said Brent Corey, chief technology officer, G7 Welcoming Committee Records “The control it gives us over pricing is ideal and has enabled us to be far more creative with our marketing. We love it.”

IODA’s best-of-breed Rightsholder Dashboard will now empower labels to sell direct to fans via a fully customizable, flexible online storefront. Within minutes, labels can launch a branded digital download store right from the IODA Dashboard with no set-up fee. Labels have many customization options for design, pricing, and integration with their existing sites, all controlled in real-time from the Rightsholder Dashboard.  IODA’s new offering is in partnership with DownloadCentric, which provides ecommerce expertise and end-user customer support. Advanced options also provide an integrated digital and physical commerce solution.

IODA Label Stores is also available to IODA’s physical distribution partners via its D3 Distributor Platform. Allegro, one of IODA’s largest distributor clients is taking advantage of the platform to drive direct-to-consumer commerce.

“We are committed to providing our labels with the best technology solutions, which is why we chose to partner with IODA,” commented Jesse McCann, digital operations manager, Allegro Media Group. “Through IODA’s platform, we can offer enhanced marketing and sales opportunities to our many labels: IODA Label Stores and IODA Promonet™ network are two excellent vehicles towards greater exposure and increased revenue for our clients.”

“IODA Label Stores saves labels time and effort while also providing a great way to promote independent label brands and increase revenue,” commented Kevin Arnold, founder and CEO of IODA. “Selling direct to fans is an important part of the essential artist-fan relationship. As our labels are already working with us to market and sell their catalog online, it makes sense to add an easy to use, direct ecommerce solution.”

Highlights of IODA Label Stores

Direct Commerce Relationships
- For labels who already manage their content and digital business through IODA’s Dashboard, IODA Label Stores offers an easy and integrated solution for creating direct commerce relationships between labels and fans

Complete Control
- Fully Customized: Labels can choose from a variety of design and layout options ranging from templates that yield an attractive store in 20 minutes to advanced HTML and CSS options for those with web development resources. A storefront can include an entire catalog, or separate stores can be created for individual artists, sub-labels and imprints
- Real-time Pricing: Sophisticated pricing controls allow labels to use pricing as an effective marketing tool and provide flexibility that large digital retailers are unable to deliver
- Unique Content: Store content can include rare, out of print or limited edition recordings previously unavailable to fans

Leveraged Digital Marketing and Operations
- Promonet Integration: IODA’s promotional network will distribute Label Stores links to Promonet users, so that PromoTracks can point fans back to label storefronts to buy
- Integrated Accounting: Accounting and payment are available through the same reliable system that labels depend on for the rest of their digital business
- Leading Technology: Labels receive the best of both worlds with IODA’s metadata, content, and delivery systems coupled with DownloadCentric’s expertise in e-commerce and web development

Seamless Integration
- Artist and Album Integration: At both the artist and album level, IODA Label Stores integrates with labels’ existing websites
- One Shopping Cart: Sophisticated integration of physical and digital products into one shopping cart creates a complete commerce experience

Upcoming Features
- Widgets: Customizable store widgets that can be embedded on and enable sales on external websites including MySpace, blogs and fan sites
- Multi-Currency Support:  Support for pricing and billing in British Pounds, Euros and Canadian Dollars

About IODA
IODA, the Independent Online Distribution Alliance, is the industry-leading digital distribution company for the global independent music community. IODA provides comprehensive services to record labels, physical distributors, and artists, including license negotiations; media encoding and metadata management; and royalty payment administration and reporting. The company also offers promotional support through a dedicated marketing division and through the IODA Promonet (www.iodapromonet.com), a promotional distribution network that provides qualified podcasts, blogs, and other promotional sites with access to pre-cleared, legal music and other promotional assets from IODA’s labels. Founded in 2003, IODA represents a rapidly expanding roster of over a million tracks from thousands of independent labels around the globe. IODA was named one of FORTUNE magazine’s 25 Breakout Companies for 2005. The company’s website is www.iodalliance.com.

Contact Info:
Jessica Hoffman
IODA
tel: 925-296-6161
email: jhs@iodalliance.com