2. history
Originally founded in 1997 AWAL now stands at the forefront of the new media revolution.
AWAL has empowered independent artists and labels to take control of their own destinies and
bypass the gatekeepers of the old music industry.
The function of AWAL is logical and simple. Large record companies have direct deals with
iTunes and other digital stores, however these stores cannot deal directly with the hundreds of
thousands of small labels and independent artists who want to sell their music on line.
Consequently AWAL acts as a conduit, uploading and encoding the music into the stores then
accounting to and paying its clients. AWAL currently represents over 4,000 artists totaling
100,000 tracks, and has already sold over 12,000,000 downloads.
There are huge AWAL success stories; Arctic Monkeys, Editors, Tina Dico, Klaxons and
Fanfarlo, to name just a few.
3. today
Currently AWAL labels and artists, with the guidance of industry experts can have their music
digitally distributed and promoted into a global network of over 128 digital stores.
AWAL clients can view their sales online, up to the previous day, using our unique sales
reporting system.
Clients also have the opportunity to opt into the License / Sync platform where they can see the
briefs and submit their own tracks for consideration. AWAL Licence / Sync has direct
relationships with hundreds of brands and music supervisors worldwide including Coca-Cola,
Western Union, Skins, Smirnoff and Burberry.
Special marketing promotions, sponsorship opportunities, music publishing, A&R, playlists,
custom compilations, podcasts, cross platform content properties and mobile offerings all come
under the AWAL aegis.
4. the directors
Denzyl Feigelson Kevin Bacon Jonathan Quarmby
Original founder of AWAL in 1997, Kevin's introduction to the record Jonathan entered the music business as
Denzyl has been a strong proponent of industry was back in 1978 as bass a session keyboard player, going on to
independent artistry. Among the hats he player and founder member of the sign as a writer for Warner Chapel.
wears, one of those has been as a Comsat Angels. Hailing from Sheffield, When Barclay records in Paris needed a
music synergist and consultant to Apple Kevin went on to make 9 albums for producer for one of their artists he was
and iTunes, since 2001. In 2004 he Polydor / Jive and Island before leaving volunteered for the job. Here he met
came to London to launch iTunes for the band in 1989 to focus on record Kevin Bacon. Together they produced a
Europe, and met current partners Kevin production with his production partner record for Electra records and so began
and Jonathan, at which point AWAL then Jonathan Quarmby. an enduring and successful partnership.
headquartered in the U.K.
5. distribution
Our non-exclusive agreement and 30 day rolling term gives our clients the
flexibility and freedom to control their careers. The business of music is an ever
changing industry, and we recognise that artistic and financial freedom are
cornerstones of this evolution.
AWAL delivers content worldwide to the major on-line stores and download
sites.
We provide potential clients with a simple and easy to understand distribution
agreement. The important text is only one page long with no lawyer speak.
Once this has been signed and relevant audio and metadata has been provided
then we can set about our task of making the content available as widely as
possible across the digital realm.
We account for sales quarterly, and within 30 days of AWAL receiving the
monies from the stores. We need to wait until the funds arrive in our account so
we can calculate the exact exchange rates. We then deduct our 15%
distribution commission and send on the rest either by good-old-fashioned
...and 100+ more cheque, bank transfer, or Paypal.
6. marketing
AWAL's digital marketing tools are here to provide artists with the resources they need to take
control of their careers. They focus on the following areas:
Web Presence Creation and Administration
• Bespoke Web Presence Development
• Social Media Checklist
Active Social Network Promotion
• Social Media Advertising
• Community Marketing
Fan Base Acquisition, Engagement and Management
• Mailing List Management
• Downloads & Competitions
• AWAL Live Sessions
Market Research
• Stats tracking via BuzzDeck
Mobile Marketing
• Mobile Applications
• Mobile Stores
7. technology
AWAL is committed to continually
improving our service to our
clients by providing them with the
best in technological innovation,
such as our revolutionary new
statistics platform BuzzDeck.
By providing sales information, social media activity, fan locations and fan demographics plotted
against key events, BuzzDeck is designed to helps artists, labels, management and brands to better
understand their own businesses.
Aside from this AWAL have also
expanded into the world of app building
for both iPhone and Android, having
created successful apps for Madness,
Master Shortie and the WOMAD
festival.
8. licensing
For many of our artists, licensing and sync has become a major part of the income they receive from their music. There are a
multitude of opportunities, from global ad campaigns, which can generate hundreds of thousands of pounds for the writer and
artist to TV shows, major and small films, and private websites which produce more modest but still welcome revenue
streams. Once an end user (ad agency / web site owner etc.) has chosen the track they want, the fee has to be negotiated
and a synchronisation license granted. The income is split (usually equally) between the recording (master rights - artist /
label) and the composition (publishing rights - writer / publisher). AWAL does not normally deal with the songwriter or the
publisher.
The AWAL license platform is an opt-in service for AWAL distributed clients that allows AWAL to seek and broker
synchronisation opportunities and licences with brands, their agencies and other end users, on behalf of our artists and labels
working in one of three ways:
1. Opt-in clients view the briefs that we receive and then submit any of their tracks which they feel are suitable. The tracks
will appear on an on -line player that can be viewed and auditioned ONLY by the end user.
2. Via the public facing AWAL License platform anyone can browse clips of our clients music, read their biogs and view
photos. When they find something they like they can license the track(s) directly from the site.
3. AWAL has extensive experience in brokering synch deals both as a music rights owner and a licensee. Matt Smith is now
responsible for maximising the potential of the catalogue and will also oversee and negotiate any potential deals where
appropriate.