PRO Agency expands partnership with Secretly Distribution

The deal between the two companies was first inked in 2019 and covered rights management for Secretly’s catalogue in Austria, Germany and Switzerland. The agreement has now been expanded globally and will see PRO manage international performance rights collections for several independent labels, including, among others, Ghostly International, Numero Group, Captured Tracks, Awesome Tapes From Africa and Secretly Group, which comprises Dead Oceans, Jagjaguwar and Secretly Canadian.

PRO Agency will also manage international rights collections for artists such as Mitski, Bon Iver, Phoebe Bridgers, Sufjan Stevens and more.

“We are pleased to further expand the existing cooperation with one of the most important international independent players and to enable a comprehensive and optimal collection of neighbouring Rights,” PRO CEO Alexander Warnke said.

Secretly Distribution’s head of international strategy, Chris Cannon, said: “We have enjoyed working with Alex and his team since 2019 and have been very impressed with their deep knowledge of the performer rights landscape and their ability to dig deep into each market to maximise collections. We are looking forward to starting this expanded partnership with PRO, safe in the knowledge that our label and artist partners are in very capable hands.”

PRO Agency was established by German distributor Cargo Records in 2012. It independently manages the neighbouring rights for producers, performing artists and actors with 63 collecting societies around the globe. Its label and distribution partners include Spirit Music Group, Cinq Music Group, Symphonic Distribution and the Berlin Philharmonic.

Secretly Distribution was founded in 1997 to help get the music of a few growing labels into the hands of relevant people. The service now represents more than 100 labels and thousands of artists.

The expanded deal adds to PRO’s other neighbouring rights deals, including with American independent label Merge Records signed in 2020 and a global neighbouring rights deal with Uganda-based Nyege Nyege Tapes signed in 2019.