October 15, 2020 (Memphis, TN) – Beatroot Music, the only Black-owned music distributor in the U.S. and part of the Made in Memphis Entertainment (MIME) family of companies, is celebrating a year of success in educating, nurturing, and growing the artist and music business community in Memphis while expanding its reach around the world.
Since its first release, Bridget Kelly’s The Great Escape EP, Beatroot has grown tremendously, signing hundreds of hand-selected distribution deals with artists such as Big30, Lyrica Anderson, DJ Drewski, Big Homie G, Kolyon, and Ryan Destiny while also directly distributing music from record labels such as NLess Entertainment, 1801 Records, Riveting Entertainment, and One Eight Entertainment. Unique for its size, Beatroot has direct relationships with major services including Apple, Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud, Tidal, Pandora, and Sirius XM. This has led to significant streaming growth of 437% from Q1 2020, with the number of Beatroot artists with over 1 million plays jumping from one to 15 in the same time frame, as well as placements on hundreds of editorial playlists, including Brown Sugar on Apple Music, Feelin’ Myself on Spotify, and R&B Wave on YouTube.
The main component of Beatroot’s success is their dedication to putting artists first. Unlike many other distributors, Beatroot is selective about its roster of music, and provides access to a full range of other services to their artists to best showcase their talent including graphic design, playlist pitching, sync placement, digital ad campaigns, and more. Beatroot’s agreements give musicians maximum control and flexibility by focusing on licensing their songs rather than tying them into restrictive contracts — the artists retain 100% of the masters, and are free to record and release other work as they choose. The artist has access to a robust dashboard that helps track their Beatroot-distributed songs, including detailed heat maps that provide key data on where artists’ fans are located and how they are discovering their music.
“In the last 6 or 7 months, I just started getting paid off of streams, off of YouTube and ASCAP. I never had any of that until I learned the business through Beatroot,” said rap artist Kolyon. “I just got my mama a new Range Rover for Mother’s Day off of streaming money, thanks to Beatroot.”
“I love being distributed through Beatroot because they truly cater to each individual artist’s needs,” said R&B artist Porcelan. “Beatroot acknowledges my success and always makes me feel like I’m top priority. I can’t forget all the dope playlists I get to be a part of, working with them.”
“As an independent artist, I have worked with a lot of distribution companies, but so far, Beatroot is the best,” said hip-hop artist Young Lyric. “They know what they are doing when it comes to marketing, distribution, and publishing. I recommend any independent artist to work with them.”
Beatroot also works synergistically with the other companies in the MIME family, opening up unique opportunities for artists that are not available anywhere else. For example, MIME’s sync company Heavy Hitters Music has secured high-profile placements for Beatroot-distributed tracks “Hey Hey Alright” by smoke&jade on Netflix series Selling Sunset, “Keep Up” by Chelsea Grams in an ad campaign for Samsung, and “No Enemy” by wuuds on MTV reality show Are You The One? In addition, because MIME’s Memphis-based recording studio 4U Recording is open around the clock and their staffers are cross-trained in all aspects of the music business, Beatroot is able to offer its artists personalized, 24/7 customer service, enabling them to reach a human being at any time of the day or night.
“We’re completely obsessed with Selling Sunset, so when Beatroot and Heavy Hitters got our music on the show, we were so excited!” said smoke&jade. “That kind of stuff only happens here. We’re glad we picked Beatroot.”
“I rock with Beatroot because they take the time to be personal with their artists,” said Lil Chris. “When you need something you can actually talk to a person and get the customer service you deserve.”
In addition to providing a global platform for Memphis-based artists such as Porcelan, Brandon Lewis, and Jessica Ray, Beatroot is also dedicated to cultivating the next generation of music business executives both in Memphis and around the world. Founded by original Stax Records songwriter and Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee David Porter and 20+ year business and legal veteran Tony Alexander, Beatroot’s leadership has grown to include music tech veteran, BFM Digital founder, and Los Angeles College of Music professor Steven Corn; top-level major-label creative, artist management, and A&R executive Peter Thea, and marketing specialist Ashley France. Together, they lead a growing international staff of employees based in Memphis, New York, Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Johannesburg, South Africa — working closely with them to develop their skills in all aspects of the music and distribution businesses.
“David [Porter] and I started MIME to get Memphis back to its former glory as a major music industry hub. Beatroot and our other MIME companies have taken that ball and run with it,” said Tony Alexander, Co-Founder, President, and Managing Director of MIME. “The talent is already here, we just have to nurture it with the right kind of hyper-local-yet-global, all-in-one environment — like Stax with a more artist-friendly attitude. Beatroot is a huge part of that.”
“Beatroot fosters our artists’ independence, talent, and ability to collect the revenue they earned, and in turn develops the abilities of Memphis natives who are looking to break into the business side of the music industry,” said David Porter, CEO of MIME. “In only a year, they have accomplished far more than we ever imagined, working together with our other companies to take our artists to new heights of success.”
For more information on Beatroot, visit www.beatroot.com. To listen to a playlist of Beatroot-distributed tracks on your preferred streaming service, visit https://ffm.bio/beatrootshottest.
About Made in Memphis Entertainment (MIME)
Made in Memphis Entertainment (MIME) is a Black-owned full-service entertainment company with global reach, but with its heart in the hometown of modern American music. Founded in 2015 by original Stax Records songwriter and Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee David Porter (CEO) and 20+ year business and legal veteran Tony Alexander (President and Managing Director), MIME is dedicated to re-establishing Memphis as a key music industry hub while expanding its influence around the world, all while developing and promoting diverse talent on both the creative and business sides of the industry.
MIME’s family of companies includes MIME Records, an independent record label home to artists like Porcelan, Brandon Lewis, and Jessica Ray; MIME Publishing, an independent music publishing company that handles Porter’s legendary songwriting catalog and other copyrights of some of the most sought after young producers in hip-hop and R&B; Heavy Hitters Music, a film, TV, and ad sync company with an all-female creative team and Emmy-winning music catalog; Beatroot Music, the only Black-owned music distributor in the U.S., as well as Beatroot Africa; and 4U Recording, a state-of-the-art recording studio in Memphis with more branches opening soon.
For more information, visit www.mimecorp.com.