BlackBerry partnership allows unsigned musicians to sell music on BlackBerry World

BlackBerry and digital music distributor Zimbalam have partnered to allow unsigned musicians to offer their wares on BlackBerry World.

The companies would leverage Zimbalam’s distribution network and technologies to allow independent artists to sell their music on BlackBerry World, BlackBerry’s smartphone and tablet store front, BlackBerry said.

Europe’s largest digital music distributor for independent artists, Zimbalam was available globally and had allowed distribution for 80,000 artists so far, the company said.

Interested artists would visit Zimbalam’s website to create an account, choosing release dates and territories, and paying a distribution fee to begin selling their music.  They would earn 90% of their royalties from sale, Zimbalam said, and remain “free and independent.”

A Zimbalam spokesman said the remaining 10% royalties would be taken by Zimbalam, used to cover operational costs and partly used to re-invest in tools and international development opportunities to help self-releasing artists and the like.

The distribution fee involved £19.99 to release a single and £29.99 to release an album, the spokesman said.  There were no other charges or annual fees, he said.

There was no vetting process, which meant all artists’ content would be allowed on BlackBerry World.

Once signed up, artists could see daily sales reports, showing store and geographic specific data, he said.

More content for BlackBerry World

Zimbalam through BlackBerry World would be a good vehicle to share music for independent artists, labels or customers, BlackBerry global alliances and business development vice president Martyn Mallick said.

Zimbalam chief executive said Zimbalam existed in order to allow unsigned artists to get their music on to digital music stores and to find an audience.

“We are excited to be working with BlackBerry as it will give artists access to a different fan base and help with the discovery of their music.”

The deal means more content for BlackBerry World, which would be more accessible to independent and self releasing artists.

BlackBerry has been driving expansion of its content offerings, with app Port-A-Thons, one of which netted 15,000 apps in 38 hours.  The move also follows BlackBerry’s bolstering of its music and videos offering on World before its BlackBerry 10 launch, with new label partnerships and DRM-free content.

The partnership announcement also follows the news that BlackBerry 10 now has more than 100,000 apps available.