Sponsor content created with Amuse
Independent music continues to perform strongly – and the global opportunities for artists are expanding.
Launched in 2017, Amuse is now one of the leading champions for independent artists in the world today. As well as powering open-to-all global digital music distribution, it has developed in-house expertise across specialisms such as sync, marketing and catalogue strategy to build real career moments for independent artists.
Crucially, the comprehensive solutions that Amuse offers means that music creators can choose to remain independent as they build serious momentum – from success on streaming platforms to high-profile sync placements.
With teams in London, New York and Stockholm, the digital music distribution and services company supports talent at every stage of their career with a powerful alternative to the traditional industry model that is truly independent.
TRUE INDEPENDENCE
Powered by in-house technology, Amuse’s music distribution, flexible funding and tailored Artist & Label Services operation let artists and teams build and manage their careers while maintaining full control of their creative vision and ownership.
The key to the Amuse model is a recognition that artist breakthroughs are increasingly coming from the self-releasing sector. At this point, Amuse provides tailored partnerships beyond DIY distribution, including the support of the sync department.
Led by Daniel Copleston, Amuse’s sync operation provides a direct bridge to a global network of music supervisors and buyers.
The Amuse team actively pitches the Amuse catalogue across film, TV, video games and advertising, handling every negotiation to secure the best deals and maximise earnings.
SYNC CATALOGUE BOOST
A standout example is Amuse securing the placement for Emei’s 2023 single Scatterbrain in Amazon Prime Video’s 2026 hit romantic drama series Off Campus. As well as being a significant sync for the LA-based alternative pop musician, it also underlines the possibilities for catalogue tracks within media for independent artists.
Three years after its original release, Scatterbrain became a powerful driver of catalogue discovery, triggering a significant surge in post-broadcast Shazams and cross-platform streaming activity.
TV viewers embraced Off Campus, which was one of the summer’s most-watched television debuts, reaching around 36 million viewers in its first 12 days on the service.
Emei secured an Amazon Prime Video sync placement with Scatterbrain
The placement of that one song in the series introduced Emei’s music to a broad global audience with some staggering numbers:
– Daily streams spiked significantly following the release of Off Campus featuring Emei’s Scatterbrain, increasing by 77% after the series premiered.
– Shazam activity also saw a significant spike, rising from around zero to more than 10,000 daily Shazams in the first few weeks.
While the sync placement was the impetus behind the growth for Emei, Amuse’s label marketing team built on this momentum with a cohesive digital strategy, aligning the Amazon Prime Video exposure with streaming playlist optimisation, social platform integration and tour promotion.
As a result, the attention for the independent artist from the track appearing prominently in Off Campus converted into sustained streaming and discovery, not just a short-term spike. Emei now stands at 1.7 million monthly listeners on Spotify, with Scatterbrain on almost 85m streams on that one platform alone.
The media placement for Emei further enhanced Amuse’s reputation as an agile, forward-thinking partner for independent artists, demonstrating how targeted sync placements can supercharge commercial growth on DSPs.
DIY ACTS HIT 100M STREAMS
Amuse’s deep understanding of the global music sector stems from the 100-plus strong team’s collective experience with major industry players such as RCA, Eleven Management, ADA and PIAS. What’s more they identify closely with artists – one third of the company’s staff members are artists and producers outside of the day job.
In the past decade, Amuse has invested almost $50 million into artist partners via advances and marketing campaigns. Not exclusive to artists with an Artist & Label Services deal, the company also offers automated royalty advances through their DIY distribution platform. It has now paid out more than 55,000 automated royalty advances, from as low as $15 to tens of thousands USD.
It all adds up to an Artist & Label Services proposition with global firepower – 140 Amuse-partnered artists have each amassed over 100 million streams. With 11,000-plus songs in the active Artist & Label Services catalogue, those streaming volumes are set to increase substantially.
Amuse’s Artist & Label Services division is home to billion-streaming songs and more than 400 artists and labels, from DIY bedroom producers to platinum-selling international acts. Talent partnered with Amuse includes Yot Club, Deki Alem, Kojo Funds, Stela Cole and The Walters.
Three years into Yot Club’s partnership with Amuse, the US singer-songwriter passed the one billion streams milestone across platforms – one of six Artist & Label Services to reach 10 figures on DSP consumption.
Amuse also boasts a Spotify Billions Club member: alt-R&B duo Hotel Ugly’s breakout single Shut up My Mom’s Calling reached the coveted billion Spotify streams in 2024 and is now fast approaching two billion on that one platform alone.
The scale of success is proof that Amuse has become the ultimate end-to-end solution for modern artists looking for a quality-oriented music distributor who can support them beyond making their music available to streaming platforms.
DIY and independent acts with momentum don’t need to upstream into a traditional label to get access to the support they need. With the powerful backing of Amuse, artists can choose to stay independent as they grow their careers alongside a trusted partner that operates at the forefront of the global music ecosystem.
