Secretly Distribution Launches Asia Pacific Division

Secretly Distribution will open an office in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, further expanding its international operations.

The team:

• Max Thomas will lead the Sydney-based office as Head of APAC.

• He previously spent four years handling marketing and strategy for Secretly Group in the region.

• He has run album campaigns in Australia, New Zealand and Asia for artists such as Bon Iver, Mitski, Bright Eyes and more.

• London-based Chris Cannon has been promoted to Vice President of International Strategy.

• Cannon helped develop Secretly’s Latin American presence and launch Cargo Independent Distribution, a partnership between Cargo Records, Secretly Distribution and Beggars Group.

The focus:

• The APAC office will support artists and labels throughout the region.

• It will handle priority releases across Secretly’s roster, which includes Australian labels Chapter Music and Spinning Top, and New Zealand labels Lil’ Chief Records and Flying Nun.

• It will also manage relationships with regional distribution partners such as Leaplay in Korea, Rocket in Australia, Ultra-Vybe in Japan, and Rhythm Method and Southbound in New Zealand.

• Secretly plans to hire a marketing and campaigns manager based in Southeast Asia.

What they said:

• Chris Cannon: “Our existing team has done a remarkable job helping to leverage our releases in key markets such as Australia and Japan for many years. Now with Max Thomas, our incoming Head of Marketing & Campaigns for APAC, at the helm, we can localize our service whilst adopting a proactive approach in response to the organic growth we can see in fast developing markets such as the Philippines, Indonesia and China. The opportunities for collaboration in these markets are vast, and we have only begun to scratch the surface.”