Wind-Up Records, the independent powerhouse that broke multiplatinum rockers Creed, has renewed its U.S. distribution pact with Bertelsmann-owned major label group BMG Entertainment. The two-year deal extends a distribution pact inked when chairman Alan Meltzer launched the label in early 1997.
Wind-Up since has grown to become the second-largest indie label behind teen-pop juggernaut Jive Records, thanks in large part to Creed, which has sold more than 21 million records during the past five years.
Meltzer hasn’t ruled out cashing in on that success and expanding the company’s reach by doing a larger equity deal with a major, but he maintained that a straight-ahead distribution pact is more appropriate in the short term.
“Down the road we might consider it, and BMG is certainly a prospective partner,” Meltzer told Daily Variety. “But at this point we feel we have more hills to climb on our own.”
‘WEATHERED’ A BESTSELLER
Creed’s third LP, titled “Weathered,” has been its best-selling effort to date, scanning nearly a million copies in its first week of release and 4.5 million to date.
Meltzer said he has more potential hitmakers on deck, including Louisiana-based rock outfit 12 Stones and South African alt-rockers Seether.
Wind-Up relies on Sony Music for distribution outside the U.S., but that contract is in talks for a multiyear extension as well, according to sources.
