Published
Tue, Feb 7, 2023, 18:20
- "Employee ownership secures Kudos's future as a truly independent music company," said founder Danny Ryan.
Kudos Records has become the UK's first fully employee-owned music distribution company.
Announcing the news yesterday, February 6th, the London-based distributor said its entire share capital has been sold to the newly formed Employee Ownership Trust. As beneficiaries, each employee automatically becomes a co-owner of the business. They'll benefit from profit distributions and also have more input into the day-to-day running of Kudos.
"Kudos Records has always been committed to fostering a culture of ownership and engagement among its employees," said founder Danny Ryan, who will remain as the managing director for at least the next five years to oversee the transition.
He added: "This transition to employee ownership will further align the interests of employees with those of the business. I've also always attached great importance to having a genuinely independent distribution option for record labels. In this era of consolidation, employee ownership secures Kudos's future as a truly independent music company."
Established in 1992, Kudos distributes music for a slew of well-respected dance music labels, such as The Trilogy Tapes, Eglo Records, Hessle Audio, Idle Hands, Bokeh Versions, Editions Mego, Athens of the North, Swamp 81 and Deep Medi Musik.