AWAL (shortened from Artists Without A Label) is a global recording business that claims to serve as an alternative to the traditional record label, offering deal structures that provide artists with the resources and expertise of a global label while allowing them to retain ownership and control of their music. In 2021,

Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

purchased AWAL from

Kobalt Music Group Kobalt Music Group, Ltd. is an independent Performing rights, rights management and music publishing company. Founded in 2000 by CEO Willard Ahdritz, Kobalt acts primarily as an administrative publishing company, not owning any copyrights. Also ...

for $430 million.

Services

AWAL's services include global marketing and creative services, A&R, playlist & radio promotion, publicity, synch, and brand partnerships, and access to real-time comprehensive music data and insights. In November 2018,

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

wrote an article titled, "Can Kobalt Disrupt the Label Game With AWAL," outlining the company's approach and how it pays out as much as 80 percent of streaming revenue to its artists. In March 2017, AWAL introduced its music analytics app designed to collect and display data from an artist's

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a List of companies of Sweden, Swedish Music streaming service, audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services ...

and Apple Music presence.

History

AWAL US was originally founded in 1997 by Denzyl Feigelson in Ojai,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, with mentorship help from founding member Andrew Ungerleider, and then joined forces in 2004 with record producers Kevin Bacon and Jonathan Quarmby. In December 2012, AWAL UK was acquired by the

and operated as the company's digital music distribution arm. In January 2018, Lonny Olinick was named CEO of Kobalt's recording division. By March 2018, Kobalt announced it was investing $150 million into AWAL and that all of Kobalt's recording business would be combined under the AWAL brand. AWAL acquired In2une Music in June 2018, which provides multi-format radio promotion to independent labels and artists. AWAL announced a strategic partnership with independent label

Glassnote Records Glassnote Records (also known as Glassnote Entertainment Group LLC) is a record label that was launched by American music executive Daniel Glass in 2007. The label primarily has a lineup of indie rock and alternative rock artists, most notably ...

in November 2018. Other notable announcements from the company include signing artists such as Tomer Aaron, Steve Lacy, Finneas,

Little Simz Simbiatu "Simbi" Abisola Abiola Ajikawo (born 23 February 1994), better known by her stage name Little Simz, is a British Rapping, rapper and Acting, actress. She rose to prominence with the independent release of her first three albums: ''A Cur ...

, Girl in Red,

deadmau5 Joel Thomas Zimmerman (born January 5, 1981), known professionally as deadmau5 (pronounced "dead-mouse"), is a Canadian electronic music producer and disc jockey, DJ. His musical style mostly includes progressive house and electro house music, ...

JVKE Jacob Dodge Lawson (born 3 March 2001), known professionally as Jvke (stylized in all caps and pronounced "Jake /dʒeɪk/"), is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and social media personality. During the COVID-19 lockdowns, he star ...

Jungle jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past century. Etymology The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''jaṅgala'' ...

, Disclosure,

Rex Orange County Alexander James O'Connor (born 4 May 1998), known professionally as Rex Orange County, is a British singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Grayshott, England. '' NPR Music''s Zoë Jones has described O'Connor's music as "a bright b ...

, Tom Misch, and

Laufey Laufey may refer to: Mythology and fictional characters * Laufey (mythology) Laufey or Nál is a figure in Norse mythology and the mother of Loki. The latter is frequently mentioned by the matronymic ''Loki Laufeyjarson'' (Old Norse 'Loki Laufey' ...

. In November 2018, AWAL was named on Billboard's 2018 Digital Power Players - Music Groups list. In April 2023, AWAL was named on Billboard's 2023 International Power Players list. Later that year, Billboard named AWAL's Lonny Olinick, Pete Giberga, and Paul Hitchman to their 2023 Indie Power Players list. AWAL has offices in London, New York, Los Angeles, Berlin, Stockholm, Mexico City, Madrid, Mumbai, Rio de Janeiro, Sydney, Paris and Toronto. On September 7, 2021, the

Competition and Markets Authority The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is the principal competition regulator in the United Kingdom. It is a non-ministerial government department in the United Kingdom, responsible for promoting competitive markets and tackling unfair beh ...

(CMA), the United Kingdom's antitrust regulator raised concerns that Sony's purchase of AWAL would reduce competition from other distributors. The CMA gave Sony and AWAL five days to address the CMA's concerns and offer legally binding remedies, or else the CMA would enter a Phase 2 investigation. The phase two investigation was launched on September 16, 2021. Following a consultation that ended on March 4, 2022, the CMA officially cleared the deal on March 16, 2022.

Notable artists

Aly & AJ Aly & AJ is an American pop rock duo consisting of sisters Aly Michalka, Alyson "Aly" Michalka (born 1989) and AJ Michalka, Amanda Joy "AJ" Michalka (born 1991) from Torrance, California. They signed with Hollywood Records and in 2005, they rele ...

* A$AP TyY * Banks * The Beaches * Ber * BoyWithUke * Bruno Major * Claudia Alende * CMAT *

Dashboard Confessional Dashboard Confessional is an American rock band from Boca Raton, Florida, formed in 1999 and led by singer Chris Carrabba. The name of the band is derived from the song "The Sharp Hint of New Tears" off their debut album, '' The Swiss Army Roma ...

* Dayglow *

Daði Freyr Daði Freyr Pétursson (; born 30 June 1992), known professionally as Daði Freyr or simply Daði, is an Icelandic musician. As the frontman of Daði & Gagnamagnið ( ), he was due to represent Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 with t ...

De La Soul De La Soul ( ) is an American hip hop music, hip hop group formed in the village of Amityville on Long Island, New York (state), New York in 1988. They are best known for their eclectic sampling, eccentric lyrics, and contributions to the evoluti ...

/ Kx5 *

Die Antwoord Die Antwoord (; ) is a South African hip hop duo formed in Cape Town in 2008. The duo consists of rappers Ninja and Yolandi Visser (also spelled Yo-Landi Visser and stylized as ¥o-Landi Vi$$er). Their music, a fusion of hip hop with rave mu ...

* DijahSB * Disclosure * Djo * Esprit D'Air * Ethel Cain *

Everything Everything Everything Everything are an English art rock band from Manchester that formed in late 2007. Noted for their eclectic sound and complex, avant-garde-inspired lyrics, the band has released seven albums to date '' Man Alive (2010),'' '' Arc (2013 ...

* The Aubreys * Frank Carter & the Rattlesnakes *

Gabrielle Aplin Gabrielle Ann Aplin (born 10 October 1992) is an English singer-songwriter. After amassing a following for her acoustic music covers on YouTube, Aplin signed a recording deal with Parlophone in February 2012. She rose to prominence the following ...

* Girl in Red * Greyson Chance * Gus Dapperton * Honne (band) * Jae Jin * Jesse McCartney * James Marriott *

JPEGMAFIA Barrington DeVaughn Hendricks (born October 22, 1989), known professionally as JPEGMafia (stylized in all caps as JPEGMAFIA), is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. Born in Flatbush, Flatbush, Brooklyn, he signed with Deathbomb Arc t ...

iamamiwhoami iamamiwhoami ( ) is an electronic music and audiovisual project led by Swedish singer-songwriter Jonna Lee (singer), Jonna Lee in collaboration with producer Claes Björklund. Since 2009, the project has released a series of audiovisual works ...

* ionnalee * Katelyn Tarver *

The Kooks The Kooks () are an English indie rock band formed in 2004 in Brighton. The current lineup consists of Luke Pritchard on vocals and guitar, and Hugh Harris on bass, guitar, and synthesiser. Their music is primarily influenced by the 1960s Br ...

Kim Petras Kim Petras (, ; born 27 August 1992) is a German singer and songwriter based in Los Angeles. Between 2016 and 2020, she released music as an independent artist under her own imprint, BunHead Records, before signing with Amigo and Republic Reco ...

Kira Kosarin Kira Nicole Kosarin (born October 7, 1997) is an American actress and singer, known for her role as Phoebe Thunderman on the Nickelodeon series '' The Thundermans''. On April 10, 2019, she independently released her debut album, ''Off Brand'', l ...

Laura Marling Laura Beatrice Marling (born 1 February 1990) is an English Folk music, folk singer-songwriter. She won the Brit Award for Brit Award for British Female Solo Artist, Best British Female Solo Artist at the 2011 Brit Awards and was nominated for th ...

Lauren Jauregui Lauren Michelle Jauregui Morgado (; born June 27, 1996) is an American singer and songwriter. She rose to prominence as a member of the girl group Fifth Harmony, which became one of the List of best-selling girl groups, best-selling girl groups ...

Lauv Ari Staprans Leff (born August 8, 1994), known professionally as Lauv (), is an American musician best known for his breakout hit "I Like Me Better"; included on his compilation album ''I Met You When I Was 18 (The Playlist)'', which was releas ...

Lil Peep Gustav Elijah Åhr (; November 1, 1996 – November 15, 2017), known professionally as Lil Peep, was an American rapper and singer-songwriter. He was a member of the hip-hop collective GothBoiClique, and is credited as being a leading figure of ...

* Lisa Heller *

* Lizzy McAlpine *

Lovejoy ''Lovejoy'' is a British television comedy-drama mystery fiction, mystery series, based on the Lovejoy (novel series), novels by John Grant (Lovejoy), John Grant under the pen name Jonathan Gash. The show, which ran to 71 episodes over six ser ...

Madison Beer Madison Elle Beer (born March 5, 1999) is an American singer and songwriter. Beer first gained substantial media coverage when Justin Bieber posted a link to one of her covers she posted on YouTube. In 2013, she released her debut single "Melo ...

* Maximum Love *

Moby Richard Melville Hall (September 11, 1965), known professionally as Moby, is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, disc jockey, and animal rights activist. He has sold 20 million records worldwide. AllMusic considers him to be "amo ...

mxmtoon Maia (born July 9, 2000), known professionally as mxmtoon ( ), is an American singer-songwriter and YouTuber. Her music is characterized by emotionally transparent, confessional lyrics and often employs the ukulele. She released her first EP, ...

* Naked Eyes *

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds are a Rock music, rock band formed in Melbourne in 1983 by lead vocalist Nick Cave, multi-instrumentalist Mick Harvey and German guitarist-vocalist Blixa Bargeld. The band has featured international personnel throug ...

* The Night Café *

Now United Now United (sometimes abbreviated as NU) is a global pop group formed in West Hollywood, California, West Hollywood, Los Angeles County, USA, in 2017 by ''Idols (TV series), Idols'' creator Simon Fuller. Originally debuting with 14 members from ...

* Pouya * Quadeca * R3HAB *

* RMR *

Rickie Lee Jones Rickie Lee Jones (born November 8, 1954) is an American singer, musician, and songwriter. Over the course of a career that spans five decades and 15 studio albums, she has recorded in various musical styles including rock, R&B, pop, soul, an ...

* SBTRKT * Simi * Spacey Jane * Steve Lacy * Sub Urban * Tamera Foster *

Thom Yorke Thomas Edward Yorke (born 7 October 1968) is an English musician who is the vocalist and main songwriter of the rock band Radiohead. He plays guitar, bass, keyboards and other instruments, and is noted for his falsetto. ''Rolling Stone'' desc ...

* Todd Terje * Tom Misch * Vérité * West Avenue (band) * Wasia Project *

The Wombats The Wombats are an English indie rock band formed in Liverpool in 2003, consisting of Matthew Murphy (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Tord Øverland Knudsen (bass, backing vocals, keyboards), and Dan Haggis (drums, backing vocals, keyboards). ...

Wretch 32 Jermaine Sinclaire Scott (born 9 March 1985), better known by his stage name Wretch 32, is a British rapper, singer and songwriter from Tottenham, North London. He was a member of the grime collective Combination Chain Gang, before forming The ...

* You Me at Six *

Young the Giant Young the Giant is an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Irvine, California, in 2004. The band's line-up consists of Sameer Gadhia (lead vocals), Jacob Tilley (guitar), Eric Cannata (guitar), Payam Doostzadeh (bass guitar), and Franc ...

* Yung Bans * Zolita

Record labels

* mau5trap * Good Soldier Songs * Nickelodeon Records *

B-Unique Records B-Unique Records is a London-based record label, and publishing company founded in 2001 by Mark Lewis and Martin Toher. It is one of the UK’s most successful independent labels. B-Unique's current roster includes Irish indie-folk trio Kingf ...

* SideOneDummy Records * World in Red (personal label for Girl in Red) * Chess Club Records * Bright Antenna Records

Albums released

* '' Come Over When You're Sober, Pt. 1'' (2017) —

* ''Fuzzybrain'' (2018) — Dayglow * ''

Friends ''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane (producer), David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting List of Friends episodes, ten seasons. With an ensemble cast ...

'' (2019) —

Omar Apollo Omar Apolonio Velasco (born May 20, 1997), known professionally as Omar Apollo, is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. After signing a record deal with Warner Records, his debut album, ''Ivory (Omar Apollo album), Ivory'', was released in ...

* ''Grey Area'' (2019) —

* ''

Portraits A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face is always predominant. In arts, a portrait may be represented as half body and even full body. If the subject in full body better re ...

'' (2019) — Greyson Chance * '' Twenty Twenty'' (2019) — Djo * ''Bonito Recycling'' (2020) —

Kero Kero Bonito Kero Kero Bonito (KKB) are a British indie pop band formed in London in 2013. The band consists of vocalist Sarah Midori Perry and producers and multi-instrumentalists Gus Lobban and Jamie Bulled. Their musical style consists of indie pop, ele ...

* '' Idiot Prayer'' (2020) —

Nick Cave Nicholas Edward Cave (born 22 September 1957) is an Australian musician, writer, and actor who fronts the rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Known for his baritone voice, Cave's music is characterised by emotional intensity, a wide variety ...

* ''Orca'' (2020) — Gus Dapperton * ''

Sunlight Sunlight is the portion of the electromagnetic radiation which is emitted by the Sun (i.e. solar radiation) and received by the Earth, in particular the visible spectrum, visible light perceptible to the human eye as well as invisible infrare ...

'' (2020) — Spacey Jane * ''Inbred'' (2021) — Ethel Cain * '' A Touch of the Beat Gets You Up on Your Feet Gets You Out and Then Into the Sun'' (2021) —

* '' Back in Love City'' (2021) — The Vaccines * '' Harmony House'' (2021) — Dayglow * '' If I Could Make It Go Quiet'' (2021) — Girl in Red * ''From Me to You'' (2021) — Quadeca * ''In Search Of Darkness'' (2021) —

Chvrches Chvrches (stylised CHVRCHΞS and pronounced "Churches") are a Scottish synth-pop band from Glasgow, formed in September 2011. The band consists of Lauren Mayberry, Iain Cook, Martin Doherty and, unofficially since 2018, Jonny Scott. Mostly deriv ...

* '' Loving in Stereo'' (2021) —

* '' Sometimes I Might Be Introvert'' (2021) —

* '' Anthology MegaThemes Vol. 1'' (2023) — Dane Prophet * '' 10 Tracks to Echo in the Dark'' (2022) —

* ''All the Truth That I Can Tell'' (2022) —

* '' Decide'' (2022) — Djo * ''

Five Seconds Flat ''Five Seconds Flat'' (stylized in all lowercase) is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Lizzy McAlpine, released on April 8, 2022, by Harbour Artists & Music in association with the AWAL music distribution company. Backgroun ...

'' (2022) — Lizzy McAlpine * '' Fix Yourself, Not the World'' (2022) —

* ''

Forever Forever or 4ever may refer to: Film and television Films * ''Forever'' (1921 film), an American silent film by George Fitzmaurice * ''Forever'' (1978 film), an American made-for-television romantic drama, based on the novel by Judy Blume * '' ...

'' (2022) — Phife Dawg * '' Here Comes Everybody'' (2022) — Spacey Jane * '' No Thank You'' (2022) —

* ''People in Motion'' (2022) — Dayglow * '' Preacher's Daughter'' (2022) — Ethel Cain * '' Rising'' (2022) —

Mxmtoon Maia (born July 9, 2000), known professionally as mxmtoon ( ), is an American singer-songwriter and YouTuber. Her music is characterized by emotionally transparent, confessional lyrics and often employs the ukulele. She released her first EP, ...

* '' Serpentina'' (2022) — Banks * ''Under the Shade of Green'' (2022) — The Happy Fits * ''I Didn't Mean to Haunt You'' (2022) — Quadeca * ''Living Somple'' (2023) - DijahSB * '' With Love From'' (2023) —

* ''

Scaring the Hoes ''Scaring the Hoes'' (also known as ''Scaring the Hoes, Vol. 1'', both stylized in all caps) is a collaborative studio album by American rappers JPEGMafia and Danny Brown. It was released on March 24, 2023, through AWAL and Bandcamp as a pay-w ...

'' (2023) —

and

Danny Brown Daniel Dewan Sewell (born March 16, 1981), better known as Danny Brown, is an American rapper, singer and songwriter from Detroit, Michigan. He was described by MTV in 2011 as "one of rap's most unique figures in recent memory". After amassing ...

* ''The Musical: Welcome to the Night of Your Life'' (2023) —

and Lilith Freund * ''Sundial''(2023) - Noname * '' Scrapyard'' (2024) — Quadeca * '' I Lay Down My Life for You'' (2024) —

* ''West Avenue'' (2024) — West Avenue (band) * ''Burnout'' (2024) — BoyWithUke * ''If Nevermore'' (2025) — Sub Urban

References

External links

* {{Authority control Online music stores of the United Kingdom Record label distributors Companies based in London British independent record labels Record labels established in 1997 2011 mergers and acquisitions 2021 mergers and acquisitions Sony Music 1997 establishments in California