FUGA opens Berlin office, expands service offering in GSA region among new signings
Promotes Curt Keplin to Head Of Business Development - GSA
Bernd Harbauer joins as Digital Accounts & Marketing Strategy Manager - GSA
Signs distribution deals with electronic labels Psyfeature and Unique Vibes
Launches region’s first Audience Engagement project with alt-pop artist Diana Goldberg
Downtown-owned FUGA, the world’s leading full-service B2B distributor, is opening a new office in Berlin following an extensive period of growth in the GSA region, including a 30% increase in clients in the last year. Based in Kreuzberg, FUGA’s Berlin office will serve as the GSA regional hub.
Curt Keplin, who joined FUGA in December 2020 as Business Development & Marketing Manager, has been promoted to Head of Business Development GSA. In his new role, Keplin will focus exclusively on FUGA’s business development and client relations efforts in the region while continuing to shape and represent FUGA’s brand in the German-speaking markets.
Joining him is Bernd Harbauer, who has been appointed as Digital Accounts & Marketing Strategy Manager - GSA, with plans to further expand the Berlin team in the coming months. Harbauer will lead relationships with key digital partners while overseeing release campaigns and strategies to maximise artist revenues and exposure across DSPs. He previously ran his own consultancy and has held positions with Clouds Hill Music, earMUSIC, Universal Music Germany, and EMI Music Germany.
Said Harbauer, “FUGA’s expansion across the GSA region has been exciting to watch and I look forward to joining the global marketing team and Curt in the new Berlin office. It’s clear that FUGA has become an important player in the region, and the expanded suite of marketing services that it now offers will be very beneficial to music companies across GSA.”
FUGA is also entering into global distribution partnerships with German electro-pop label and YouTube music curation channel Unique Vibes and Swiss trance imprint Psyfeature Records, further extending its influence in the region.
Psyfeature boasts one of the world's largest psytrance-related social media followings, while Unique Vibes’ YouTube channel has over five million subscribers. Upcoming single ‘So Afraid’ by Unique Vibes signee CRÈME and collaborative track ‘Boom Shakalaka’ by Psyfeature’s Memento Mori, Gonzi and Massivebass will be the first new releases to be distributed by FUGA – both set to be released on 8th April.
Signed to FUGA client CloudKid, rising German alt-pop artist Diana Goldberg becomes the first to benefit from FUGA’s Audience Engagement services in the region. The Audience Engagement team provides bespoke artist campaigns, encompassing promotion, digital marketing, advertising, and social media strategies to generate awareness, engage fans, and drive sales. The team will work closely with CloudKid and Diana Goldberg’s manager, Willy Ehmann, to drive engagement ahead of her upcoming single release, ‘FOCUS…’, on 8th April, as well as her debut EP, ‘BLOSSOM IN THE DARK’ on 1st July.
Said Yiannis Karavassilis, CloudKid COO, “Working with FUGA’s artist engagement services on Diana Goldberg has been an absolute pleasure. Their team is extremely professional, resourceful and is perfectly complementing all our efforts as a label and allowing us to focus on our core strengths, which is being a creative partner for the artist and being able to maximise and focus on our influencer strategy.” Diana Goldberg said, “Working with FUGA alongside my label CloudKid for the release of my first ever EP is amazing!! I love the energy of the whole team and that everyone helps make my vision become reality. It’s fun discovering audiences in places I haven’t known of before. Can’t wait to see where the next months will take us.”
About FUGA
FUGA is the leading full-service B2B music distributor in the world. Mixing deep marketing prowess with continual investment in leading technologies, FUGA’s clients – from Armada, Better Noise and Curb to Mom + Pop, mtheory and Ninja Tune – get equal access to its all-encompassing services.
Owned by Downtown Music Holdings, FUGA is one of the very few distributors to sit on the highest preferred partner tiers for Spotify, Apple and all other major DSPs.
FUGA’s global marketing team operates across 17 countries. Together with marketing and distribution, FUGA’s holistic product and services suite – including analytics, royalty accounting, neighbouring rights, rights management and white label services – empower over 800 music rights holders globally.
About CloudKid
Not defined by genres, CloudKid is a creative outlet created to support thriving undiscovered talent. Starting off as a YouTube music curation channel, CloudKid has grown into a creative company and label helping to develop and bring artists' visions to life.
CloudKid is for those who are not afraid to be themselves; for those who set no limits; for those who have their head in the clouds.
About Unique Vibes
Unique Vibes is a YouTube curation channel founded by Gideon Romani in 2016. Today the channel has over five million subscribers. What started as a small project emerged into one of Germany’s biggest YouTube channels. The unique approach is sharing the industry’s top hits while still giving a platform to smaller yet highly underrated artists. This sparked the idea to start a record label in order to work together with those singers, songwriters and producers even more. The thing that Unique Vibes treasures most is the relationship with the artists. Being consistent in doing what we love resulted in where the brand is now. The goal was never to reach a certain number of subscribers, but to simply share good music with the world and focus on those creating it.
About Psyfeature
Psyfeature started as a promotion platform on Instagram and got popular through sharing art, music and everything around psytrance. Through various partnerships and enormous growth on other platforms, it was time to open a record label. It's a great platform for upcoming as well as already established producers to grow their audience and show their music to the world.