Executives representing The Orchard have said that their latest Music Week Awards triumph is proof that the company is "the best in its field".
Speaking following their triumph in the Label/Artist Services category, Richard Pattison, head of A&R, Hannah Celnikier, senior artist marketing manager and Gabbie Witham, senior director of UK sales and marketing, were emphatic about another banner year for the Sony-owned firm.
“I think we're probably the only company of our type in this category that's got any track record in superstar level artists, with Bad Bunny, Raye, Peso Pluma and BTS way back when," said Pattison. "So I think that probably is a part of [why we won].”
The win represents a double for The Orchard, which was victorious in the Artist Marketing section for its Raye campaign last year. Read our chat with the team below...
Last year, The Orchard won in the Artist Marketing category for Raye – what’s it like to be on the stage again, this time in a different category?
Hannah Celnikier: “I think we offer both artists and label services very well, we work with a wide range of genres and, as Rich attested to, we are the best in our field, and I think that's coming through now.”
How competitive is this part of the industry?
HC: “I think that with the rise of independent music and independent artists no longer needing their traditional label structure, there are more types of these services popping up, it's just whether they have the infrastructure to support that. The Orchard is a global company as well, which sets us apart and we have teams in each territory. But the competition is fierce, because labels and artists now realise that you can be wholly independent and still be a success story.”
We are the best in our field, and I think that's coming through now
Hannah Celnikier, The Orchard
Blossoms was a big campaign for you last year – the gorilla must have been a handy marketing tool?
Richard Pattison: “To have a talisman of a campaign like that and to have this character that came out nowhere to be the frontman of that campaign, I think was very clever.”
Gabbie Witham: “Blossoms had an incredible team around them and they are fiercely proud of being for Manchester and I think the passion of wanting to represent that was a really big part of that campaign and it worked so well.”
HC: “I think we’ve said this in Music Week before, but one of the benefits of signing or working with The Orchard is that we really listen to the artist and the team. We will sit down with them, have a conversation about what they want to achieve, really listen to them and put that into action. We can make ideas like the gorilla happen, that’s the most important thing about being a distributor, listening to your labels and your artists and making what they want to happen.”
What were the biggest challenges you faced in 2024?
RP: “For the first time ever, streaming numbers weren't doing double digit growth across the board in the UK. So that was a challenge to overcome through A&R and good signings basically, like Blossoms.”
GW: “There are so many tools available now, so being in the independent space, you can do a lot of it yourself, you don't always need to rely on a distributor. So for us, we need to make sure that we are the best and that we are representing artists in the best way and giving them that platform. I think we do a good job of that.”
How would you characterise the different challenges associated with doing things in a service structure than within the traditional major set up?
RP: “In the traditional major label model, the power is very much in the hands of the record company, and we don't have that. The final say is always with the artist, so we just try to make whatever they want work and I think that promotes the individuality of the artist over homogenising. So I think it's probably a good thing, but it does present a challenge sometimes.”
HC: “I think it's very expensive to be an artist, and rising costs, whether that be on touring, marketing or in general, are not really reflected in what they receive sometimes. That's a challenge to try and navigate as well.”
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