International Superhits
As HMV once again waves the white flag from the high street, we speak with Matt Parsons of international record label, Ditto Music, to learn how he and his brother, Lee, went from disillusioned musicians to worldwide chart toppers
Interview by Thomas SUMNER
I believe you’re off to NYC – how do you occupy your time during the flight?
I’ll be preparing for the many meetings I have in New York. We are moving into a new field for us (Blockchain) so I’m learning and developing our ideas. And re-reading George Orwell’s 1984. I love literature that makes you think. For years Lee and I have been reading mainly non-fiction; we have to always keep learning, growing, evolving.
I imagine you’re ‘hidden’ to the typical music consumer, how would you introduce DITTO?
We’ve worked with Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith, Stormzy and still today many household names. In 2018, Ditto had a track in the UK Top 40 every week for 9 months, but we do tend to stay behind the scenes.
We want to give artists the opportunities we didn’t have as a band. Me and my brother Lee played in bands for 10 years and around 2005 we signed a brief deal with EMI that just left us disillusioned. We wanted to put our records out, but back then there was no way for a band to release music without a label. So we invented a company that did that. Our friends were in bands and they wanted to release music too – and Ditto Music was born.
We have kept evolving over the years, introducing new unique ways to help independent artists. Into 2019 we look after 200,000 artists and labels worldwide. Ditto provides worldwide record label services, distribution and marketing through our 22 offices in 19 countries. We launched Record Label In A Box in 2015 and have helped over 2000 people start their own record labels and make a viable career.
Right now we’re about to launch our Blockchain solution and, of course, we launched a chain of coffee shops in the UK, which will extend this year to Spain, Sweden, the US and Australia. In March 2019 we launch our own recording studio in London with free recording time for any acts we find promising.
What does the industry look like now compared to when you started out?
In 2005 there was barely any social media, so there was no way for a band to promote and release music to their own fans without a label and so much talent was wasted. I went to my first conference (Midem in Cannes) in 2007 and there were maybe 10,000 people there. These days the industry is much smaller and you find that the ones who continue creating, evolving and giving an honest solution to a valid problem have stuck the course. For artists, there are so many more opportunities than before. We are no longer dictated to by labels, artists can carve their own career and at Ditto we are expanding to offer help with every corner of that career, moving to a 360 service.
How did the popularity of digital/streaming effect the way you operated? Does it continue to challenge you?
Ditto began in the pre-streaming era with downloads on the rise and physical in decline. Now we’ve seen the downturn of downloads, which streaming has replaced and is booming. In 2010 streaming was under 10% of Ditto artists income, now it’s 85-90%. We reacted and adapted by identifying the best way to promote music via streaming platforms, then positioned ourselves to have the right relationships to make that happen. Ditto is now the biggest independent music provider for playlists on all major platforms. The only challenge is thinking of new ways to use the latest technology and cultural movements to help our artists, and that’s our daily focus.
How does HMV’s current troubles effect you? Have you ever had a particularly troublesome period and how did you deal with it?
On a personal level, it makes me smile as HMV refused to stock our band’s CD back in 2005 as we didn’t have a distributor – so we became one. Their shortsightedness forced us to forge our own path. On a wider scale, it’s a footnote in the demise of major labels as its mostly their products that were stocked.
We have faced a couple of setbacks over the years but we have always turned it round, created our own solution and its made us stronger. In 2011 we launched in the US on the basis of an investor who (once we landed) backed out. Lee and I took a massive pay cut and self-financed the US staff and offices for a year. Just like 2006, we again had no money and only our zealous work ethic to guide us. That year we went from 2,000 to 18,000 US users and received multiple awards. Now we work with amazing US artists like Chance The Rapper and Yung Fume. Every challenge really is an opportunity.
You’re venturing into the world of coffee, is it important to diversify and do you have any other ‘side-projects’ in the works?
Lee and I travel a lot and we usually end up meeting in or frequenting coffee shops. We fell in love with the Melbourne coffee scene and looked at bringing the concept to the UK. It seemed obvious to find the middle ground between coffee and music, giving artists a platform on the high street and helping the local scene. So we hired Liverpool coffee guru Natasha Murphy to make the shops a reality and I worked on the music aspect and aesthetic.
‘We fell in love with the Melbourne coffee scene and looked at bringing the concept to the UK. It seemed obvious to find the middle ground between coffee and music, giving artists a platform on the high street and helping the local scene.’
Each shop supports the local music scene by selling records from local artists and labels. We have regular in-store shows from local acts, a demo dropbox so local acts can play live and even get signed to our label for a worldwide record deal. And there is the Wall of Fame, highlighting the most exciting upcoming local acts, as well as a library where people can enjoy all kinds of books about music and the industry over a great coffee. The Liverpool shop opened in November, Manchester (Oxford St) opens February, Shoreditch in April and Barcelona, Stockholm, Melbourne and Nashville over the summer. It is VITAL to diversify. Its what has kept Ditto at the forefront for 13 years and guaranteed our success. If your customers change, you must.
As for side-projects, I’ve mentioned the music related development. We will become a 360 service company by 2020, challenging the majors head-on. Outside of music, we’re expanding Ditto Coffee globally alongside our own range of beverages, including Ditto gin, Ditto IPA and Ditto cider launching Spring 2019. Beyond that and our blockchain projects, you will continue to see a more visible Ditto presence as we expand the brand into all aspects of life that excites us. EJ
