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Andy Allen of ADA Discusses Why He Stays in the Music Business

Andy Allen
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.
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Andy Allen, president of Alternative Distribution Alliance, talks about what motivates him to work, and about the state of the music industry today. He discusses how digital distribution and ubiquitous playback devices are affecting his end of the industry, and share some predictions for the future.



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Motivation | Music Industry Today

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Alternative Distribution Alliance | Loyola University New Orleans | Loyola University New Orleans Forum

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Interviewer: What motivates you? You've been doing this for a while. You seem to have a passion and enthusiasm for it. You know, you wake up in the morning, and you gotta go into ADA.

Andy Allen: I've loved it because it – you know, it's not a repetitive kind of thing. It's not a factory job. It's – you know, it's challenging from the standpoint of trying to figure out what's next. It's challenging from the standpoint of, "Did we maximize on every project? Did we leave anything on the table." It's challenging from the standpoint of motivating our employees to stay focused and know what they're doing. It's challenging from the standpoint of taking interesting music into the mainstream. I've loved every day of it, and I can't say that, that was true when I worked at RCA, and I doubt if, as I said, you'd find many music professionals these days that are in that position where they get up and they love it to that extent. You know, the independent world is – and particularly in our situation, cause we have the stability and support of a major and, frankly, then can kind of act like an indie. Can't ask for more than that. It's great.

Interviewer: To close, I want to thank you so much, first of all, but your opinion on the state of the industry now and where it's going?

Andy Allen: We'll come to grips with delivering music in the way that people want to get it, you know. iPods are wonderful devices. They're not a threat. It's a wonderful way, you know, to get people to, you know, eh, if somebody wants to invest $400 in a device, and put 40,000 songs on it, how can you argue against that? That's great. Is it gonna survive? My guess is within 18 months phone devices will become much more interesting than iPods. The ability to get anything at anytime, they already have a billing relationship with the consumer, the devices change out about every 16 months. Nobody has a cell phone for more than 16 months, so you're gonna be able to put new devices in the marketplace with greater capability all the time. Any song at any time – very exciting.

Interviewer: Very exciting, is that a good way to sum it up in general?

Andy Allen: Well, it's – hey, if you're a consumer it's a wonderful thing. You know, if you're an old-line retailer and if you don't have a plan it's probably pretty threatening. If you're a major label I think that you're finally starting to come to grips with the idea that you can have a business that's not carrier based – meaning it's not a piece of plastic that you ship all over the country and, you know, have all the costs associated with it, and that's a major shift. So those that embrace it and understand it will benefit from it. Those that try to protect will have a tough time.

Interviewer: Andy, thank you so very much.
[End of Audio]


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