ATO Records Signs Digital Distribution Deal with IODA
According To Our Records (ATO Records) became one of five new labels to sign with the Independent Online Distribution Alliance (IODA). ATO Records was co-founded by Dave Matthews, DMB manager Coran Capshaw and Michael McDonald and Chris Tetzeli. The news was released in an IODA press release.
According to the IODA website, the new services ATP Records will enjoy include services related to distribution of music to all major online dealers such as iTunes, eMusic, Napster and Rhapsody. They also handle a number of marketing needs and claim technical expertise and a system for tracking digital catalogs and online sales.
This brings all of ATO's artist under one roof for an organized approach to the increasingly important digital media market. ATO's artists include David Gray, Jem, Gomez, My Morning Jacket, Gov't Mule and The North Mississippi Allstars.
This change will likely be transparent for fans of artists signed with ATO records. However, it is important to note that ATO currently distributes its records through Sony BMG. Presumably, prior to today's press release about the IODA deal Sony BMG was also responsible for handling digital distribution.
Sony BMG had a class-action lawsuit brought against them in April by Cheap Trick and the Allman Brothers Band for allegedly underpaying artists for digital download sales. According to an mp3.com article, the lawsuit is geared towards bands with older contracts that do not differentiate between a digital download and a record sale.
Which would indicate that these newer artists are not affected by the lawsuit, Dave, Capshaw and the other guys are clearly seeing that they can get better services and return more money to the artists by using IODA.
This all points to an interesting question: If Dave Matthews Band's Manager and Dave Matthews himself decided that the digital distribution interests of the artists on ATO are better served by the IODA than Sony BMG--how far behind is DMB from making the same decision?