Cyrus Chen Leads TuneCore�s Expansion Into Southeast Asia

The leading digital music distribution service provider for independent artists worldwide continues its global expansion, making its debut in Southeast Asia

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KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA – Media OutReach – 20 April 2021 – TuneCore, a global leader in digital music distribution for independent artists worldwide has officially launched operations across Southeast Asia (SEA). TuneCore is owned by Believe, one of the world’s leading digital music companies based in Paris. Believe currently operates in 50+ countries and together, the two companies distribute a significant share of the world’s digital music. Earlier this year, TuneCore launched operations in LATAM and Africa, bringing its total presence to 14 countries in 4 continents, and thereby making the company the independent DIY distributor with the largest global footprint.

TuneCore distributes music to a network of more than 150 digital stores and streaming services worldwide, including Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, JOOX, KKBox, Amazon Music, TikTok, QQ Music and Netease. The company boasts 14 localized and fully translated websites, including Southeast Asian languages Thai and Bahasa (Indonesia). The Vietnamese and Mandarin (simplified and traditional) versions of the website are expected to be added later this year, bringing the total to 16 languages for 2021, by far the most of its competitors.

TuneCore’s operations in Southeast Asia will be spearheaded by Cyrus Chen, who joined the company in late 2020. Prior to joining TuneCore, Cyrus worked with organizations such as Changi Travel Services and eatigo International, where he was responsible in conceptualising and orchestrating strategic plans that reinforced brand image and helped companies develop integrated business strategies to scale across regions.

Said Faryal Khan-Thompson, Vice President, International, TuneCore to whom Cyrus will report, “In the Southeast Asia market, the music industry is growing at a steady pace, with the number of potential music listeners in Asia exceeding 3.5 billion^[1]. With Cyrus at the helm, TuneCore is uniquely positioned to help independent artists in Southeast Asia grow their fan base through the company’s game changing education, best in class tools and wide ranging global reach, all while allowing artists to keep all rights to their music and earn 100% of 100% of their revenues,”

Cyrus Chen, Head of TuneCore, SEA

Commenting on TuneCore’s expansion, Cyrus said, “I am honored to join TuneCore and work with Faryal and the larger team to introduce the company’s services to Southeast Asia. We are an emerging music market with vast potential and a diverse population of varying cultures and languages. TuneCore’s parent company Believe entered the market in 2013 and has since developed a deep understanding of each country’s local music scene. TuneCore is leveraging that deep local industry knowledge to build our offerings, catered to the specific needs of independent DIY artists in the region, with scalable services at a competitve price, while supplying high value.”

Sylvain Delange, Managing Director Asia Pacific, Believe expressed, “TuneCore’s deep commitment to champion independent artists from all four corners of the world is in line with our vision [at Believe] to propel artists’ growth. There is an opportunity for TuneCore & Believe to further contribute to the growth of the thriving Southeast Asia independent artists community and help them take advantage of the exponential growth to come in the digital space while still allowing musicians to continue to maintain control and ownership of their work. Together, we are excited and are confident we’ll provide the most comprehensive set of services and products to artists in the Southeast Asian market.”

The region is ripe for partnerships and activations, as demonstrated by Cyrus’ already robust slew of country-specific initiatives. Highlights are below:

Singapore: Roaring it live with SGMUSO

Earlier this year, TuneCore celebrated its 15th anniversary by donating to SGMUSO’s Musician Support Fund (MSF), which supports the Fund-A-Gig program. This is the 3rd edition of Fund-A-Gig in the last 12 months, and was created to support Singapore’s musicians and artists who have lost performance opportunities and revenue due to the prolonged effects of COVID-19 on the nightlife and live music industry.

For more information about TuneCore, please visit their website at https://www.tunecore.com/. For additional press materials, please check out this Google Drive link.

About TuneCore

TuneCore is the global platform for independent musicians to build audiences and careers – with technology and services across distribution, publishing administration and a range of promotional services. TuneCore Music Distribution services help artists, labels and managers sell their music through Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, JioSaavn, Deezer, TikTok and more than 150 download and streaming stores worldwide, while retaining 100 percent of their sales revenue and rights for a low annual flat fee. TuneCore Music Publishing Administration assists songwriters by administering their compositions through licensing, registration, worldwide royalty collections, and placement opportunities in film, TV, commercials, video games and more. The TuneCore Artist Services portal offers a suite of tools and services that enable artists to promote their craft, connect with fans, and get their music heard. TuneCore, part of Believe, is headquartered in Brooklyn, NY, with offices in Los Angeles, Nashville, Atlanta, and Austin, and global operations in the UK, Australia, Japan, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Russia, India, Brazil as well as the LATAM, Africa and SEA markets. www.tunecore.com

About Believe

Believe is a world leading digital music company, helping artists and labels to build their audiences and careers, at all stages of their development, in all local markets around the world with respect, expertise, fairness and transparency. Pioneer in the digital world, Believe has developed an in-house technology & data organization, providing global distribution and digital marketing solutions. With more than 1,500 professionals in 50+ countries, Believe owns several brands, labels and companies including TuneCore, Nuclear Blast, Naïve, Groove Attack and AllPoints. www.believe.com