Checked Label / WJO expands into North America

Photo: Aleyce Simmonds

Australian independently owned and operated country music labels Checked Label Services and WJO Australia are expanding their physical distribution into the United States and Canada.

Managing Director Will Osland said, “The physical format is still 34% of the global music market and it is important to us that our artists are a part of that.

“Expanding our physical distribution reach, utilizing American and Canadian top-tier distributors, as well as key Australian exporters enables us to have a global reach with all key bricks and mortar retailers and global online brands such as Amazon, all at competitive wholesale and retail prices.

“It will also give us the opportunity to represent Australian major label artists in a territory they are not signed in so that their product isn’t overpriced with a wholesale value upwards of $23, in a retail market of under $15, which is currently what is occurring unfortunately. 

“We look forward to working with teams around the world to further the reach for our clients.”

The first releases in the two territories are in July are by Aleyce Simmonds, who this year won the APRA Award for Country Work Of The Year. 

Her More Than Meets The Eye album will be issued on bonus edition CD and vinyl formats, and a Collector’s Edition as a 2CD set. 

Released in Australia in February, More Than Meets The Eye debuted at #1on the AIR charts over Sia and Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, and #5 on the ARIA Top 40 Country Albums Chart. 

It created a buzz also as one of the tracks, Defeated, spoke of her personal experience with domestic violence. 

Osland and Drew Doran set up WJO Australia as a distribution label in the back room of a record store. 

Entirely self-funded, it quickly became a label able to handle physical, global digital, global publishing & licensing, and global rights management all in-house.

In 2015, the label signed a distribution deal with Universal Music Australia.

In the last 24 months, Osland and Doran have added label services company Checked Label Services, consultancy company William Osland Consulting and signed a worldwide administrative agreement with Kobalt Music Publishing.

Currently across all label brands including digital, publishing and neighbouring rights, the company has over 25,000 individual works from the Pop, Country, K-Pop and Christian markets.