As founder of one of America's foremost independent music distribution companies, Alternative Distribution Alliance, Andy Allen has nurtured the careers of artists like Better Than Ezra, The Arcade Fire, Liz Phair, Nirvana, and Tom Waits. Since founding ADA in the 1990s, Allen has managed to keep ADA true to its roots as a distributor and advocate of independent music (such as partnering with indie stalwarts Matador and Epitaph) while building strategic partnerships with major labels and manufacturers such as Warner Music Group. Today, Allen continues to refine ADA's operations and infrastructure to make the company robust enough to handle large releases yet flexible enough to allow for special projects like vinyl-only releases and other projects of more limited scope.