Sony Music Joins Artist Growth's Artist Discovery Network

Nashville, TN: Sony Music Entertainment is the latest major partner to join AG Accel, the new artist discovery network launched by "breakthrough" (Music Connection) artist services startup Artist Growth.

Launched earlier this month, AG Accel provides a platform for touring artists to get in front of a curated network of record labels, including Sony Music Entertainment's labels, as well as managers, booking agents, distributors, brand sponsors and more. By partnering with AG Accel artists can be discovered, reviewed and potentially signed based on their self-reported data from the road, including album, merchandise and ticket sales, as well as gross tour revenue and active tour markets.

For artists seeking investment and sponsorship opportunities, tour history is a key fan engagement data point for artists to tout when in talks with potential industry partners. Touring data provides a quantifiable, concrete representation of an artist's success and marketability that can often be overlooked when using more qualitative metrics like social media engagement.

"Data is playing an increasingly important role in our A&R process," says Justin Eshak, VP of A&R at Columbia Records, about the decision to partner with AG Accel. "How information is gathered and ultimately used is paramount in our goal to distance ourselves from competition, and we view touring data as another key metric in this equation."

Artist Growth is the music industry's most robust platform for data management for touring artists. AG Accel is open to all Artist Growth Premium users on an opt-in basis.

More information, visit www.artistgrowth.com.

About Artist Growth

Founded in 2012, Artist Growth is the only cloud-based solution on the market today that offers managers and musicians the tools they need to comprehensively manage their career, so artists can spend more time on the music, and managers can focus more on the big picture. With a robust set of tools, covering Events, Tasks, Finances, Merchandise and Data Reporting, Artist Growth provides clients with a refined set of industry best practices for organizing, managing and analyzing information. Artist Growth is for musicians, managers, labels and other industry professionals looking to streamline their workflow and build their passion into a career. Learn more at www.artistgrowth.com.

About Sony Music Entertainment

Sony Music Entertainment is a global recorded music company with a current roster that includes a broad array of both local artists and international superstars. The company boasts a vast catalog that comprises some of the most important recordings in history. It is home to premier record labels representing music from every genre, including Arista Nashville, Bazmark Records, Beach Street Records, Black Butter Records, Bystorm Entertainment, Columbia Nashville, Columbia Records, Day 1, Descendant Records, Epic Records, Essential Records, Essential Worship, Flying Buddha, Fo Yo Soul Recordings, Freesolo Entertainment, Kemosabe Records, Latium Entertainment, Legacy Recordings, Louder Than Life, Masterworks, Masterworks Broadway, OKeh, Polo Grounds, Portrait, RCA Inspiration, RCA Nashville, RCA Records, Relentless Records, Reunion Records, Sony Classical, Sony Music Latin, Star Time International, Syco Music, Vested in Culture and Volcano. Sony Music Entertainment is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America.

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