Vinyl crowdfunding platform Qrates adds distribution service

Originally published on FACT.

If you run a small label or are thinking about starting one, the new service from Qrates is definitely worth knowing about.

Qrates launched last year as a crowdfunding vinyl pressing platform which allows labels and artists to fund a record before sending it to the presses. The latest bright idea from the Tokyo-based company is Store Delivery, a distribution service that essentially makes it a one-stop shop for artists and labels looking to get their records into online and bricks-and-mortar stores.

Describing itself as an “open and fair business-to-business marketplace”, the Store Delivery service will offer access to a network of 200 stores in Europe and Japan, including Jetset, HMV Record Shop and Technique in Japan, and Juno Records, the major European online store.

Qrates hopes to partner with US stores later this year, expanding to 1,000 stores around the world by 2018.