Essential Music

Essential Music & Marketing have been redefining the roles of distributor and record label since 2003, offering bespoke services ranging from basic digital and physical distribution packages for labels to full project management, marketing and sales for artists releasing their own music.

Our founders, Mike Chadwick, former head of Vital Distribution and Martin Goldschmidt, bring a lifetime of experience in a changing industry to the task of running one of Europe’s most dynamic music companies. With our specialised London based team we are able to provide our clients with access to the most appropriate routes to market in the UK, throughout Europe and worldwide.

With our extensive experience in product/label management, we have the expertise on hand to manage all aspects of a release: from manufacture to building a creative team through to marketing, promotion and sales.

Essential provide an efficient and effective distribution service, giving our clients one-stop access to a tried and tested network of independent distributors backed up by our own hands-on support.

Working with our distribution partners, Essential's in-house UK sales team provide a secure route to the shelves of all major music retailers, supermarkets, independent stores and online retailers.

With established relationships with key distributors throughout Europe and internationally, we are able to hand pick the most appropriate channels for our clients’ releases, allowing us to offer a simultaneous physical release of product in every European territory.

In partnership with IODA (Independent Online Distribution Alliance), we make our clients’ digital releases available across a comprehensive network of download and streaming platforms. Our in-house digital sales team ensure releases achieve their optimum position in the online marketplace.

Our creative marketing and promotion services raise Essential’s capabilities far above the traditional role of a distributor.

For smaller independent labels we can provide the logistical support of a dedicated label manager to oversee releases. We are also proud to enable a growing number of artists to successfully release their music on their own labels, by working alongside artist managers to provide extensive and flexible project management.

The services that we provide can include core label functions like product manufacture and registration with PPL, PRS for Music and UK Chart; product management including overall strategy, recruitment of third party specialists, sourcing featured artists and commissioning remixes; and coordinating marketing services.

A selection of the diverse projects we are proud to have worked on.

Crazy Heart

The soundtrack to the movie, which starred Jeff Bridges as a washed up Country singer, was released in the UK January 2010 to match the US cinematic release and avoid imports. Essential co-ordinated marketing and promotional activity with the movie’s producers, ensuring we could capitalise fully on all the buzz surrounding the movie – from early Oscar rumours, to Golden Globe wins, Bafta nominations and then Oscar glory – and marketing activity for the movie’s cinema and DVD release. The typically rapid demise of a soundtrack was avoided, and the album is still selling steadily six months after release.

UNKLE

Essential are proud to represent critically acclaimed London-based UNKLE released of their fourth-proper full-length record “Where Did The Night Fall” on their label Surrender All on May 10th. The album features fourteen tracks recorded over the last year at various locations around the world including the band’s Surrender Sounds studio in London, Ibiza, Melbourne and Los Angeles.

Essential are looking after the whole of Europe both physically and digitally on the campaign and the forthcoming elements which will take the project well into the latter stages of 2011.

Cheap Thrills

Essential Music have recently taken on one of the most exciting dance imprints out there right now in a worldwide Product Management, sales and distribution deal that could propel the label and their artists fully into the mainstream. Fake Blood, Herve and Jack Beats lead the way on the label. Fake Blood's 'I Think I Like It' single looks set to follow the success of 'Mars' and blow up across the airwaves. Amazing support from across Radio 1 already well underway with imminent playlist support leads nicely to a follow-up EP and an album in early 2011. Jack Beats and Herve also come good with debut albums in 2011. Dance music but not as you know it.....

DJ ZINC

Formerly a leading light in the drum and bass scene and now a pioneer of dance music recently establishing his own genre of Crackhouse, DJ Zinc is one of the UK if not the world's leading producers. Zinc and Essential Music joined forces at the beginning of 2010. We quickly set to work on one of the biggest dancefloor anthems of the year in the single 'Wile Out' featuring Ms Dynamite. Already a huge instrumental track from the Crackhouse EP on the underground scene the addition of Ms Dynamite on vocals and the creation of a marketing strategy put together by Essential led to a Top 40 smash which dominated Radio 1 dance shows and clubs worldwide. Now with over 45k sales to date the new installment of the Crackhouse series is ready to roll. Underground instrumental monster track 'Nexx' looks set to exceed the success of 'Wile Out' in the charts with an A List vocalist lined up for a full commerical release and the addition of 'Lets Go' with Boy Better Know's head honcho JME and the club anthem 'Gimmie The Camera' featuring Angela Hunte on the new album looks set to keep pushing Zinc to the masses throughout 2010 and beyond.....