Published
Wed, May 11, 2016, 10:06
- The online retailer's Baseware Distribution offshoot will close on May 13th.
Beatport has cancelled its distribution service, leaving many record labels with two days to find a new distributor.
The online retailer says the decision to end the service, which is called Baseware Distribution and was launched in 2011, is part of its plan to trim its offerings and focus solely on its digital download site. (Yesterday the company closed the streaming and news services it had launched in recent years.)
The labels that were signed to Baseware Distribution have had their contracts cancelled, with the service no longer distributing content to Beatport or other digital retailers from May 13th. In its email to labels, Beatport says: "We encourage you to negotiate a new arrangement with another distribution service to ensure your future releases are addressed."
Beatport was scheduled to go to auction on May 3rd following the bankruptcy of its parent company, SFX Entertainment. That auction was postponed, with Beatport saying that the process has been "suspended for now."