Glassnote Records

What Glassnote Records does

Glassnote Records is an independent music record label founded in 2007 by Daniel Glass and headquartered in New York, with additional operational offices in Los Angeles, London, and Toronto. The label signs, develops, releases, and promotes a roster of indie, alternative, folk, electronic, R&B, and pop artists — including Childish Gambino, Mumford & Sons, Phoenix, CHVRCHES, Daughter, Half Moon Run, The Temper Trap, Baio, Foy Vance, and Silvana Estrada — and has earned two Grammy Awards, a Latin Grammy, Billboard "#1 Independent Label," Rolling Stone "Best Indie Label," and A21M "Label of the Year" recognitions.

The business is anchored by four product and service modules: (1) the Glassnote Records Label and its underlying artist roster and catalog; (2) six staff-curated playlists (Glassnote Hits, Noteworthy, Staff Picks, Chill Out, Dance Party Hits, Workout Vibes) mirrored across Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, and SoundCloud; (3) a direct-to-consumer merchandise and physical-product storefront at shop.glassnotemusic.com; and (4) a dedicated Sync & Licensing function placing catalog music in films, TV shows, commercials, and video games (e.g., Netflix, Fox Searchlight, T-Mobile, Expedia). Glassnote monetizes through streaming royalties on a usage basis, sync and licensing fees on a licensing/royalty basis, merchandise and physical sales on a transaction basis, and co-label/sub-licensing arrangements (e.g., Foy Vance releases via Ed Sheeran's Gingerbread Man Records / Atlantic).

The go-to-market combines traditional record-label A&R — accepting demo submissions via [email protected], conducting long-term artist development, and supporting tour and festival promotion (Glastonbury, Lollapalooza, Coachella, Bonnaroo, Fuji Rock) — with multi-platform streaming distribution, dedicated sync sales, and DTC commerce. The label operates with approximately 10 named team members under a founder-led, privately held structure with no disclosed institutional investors, parent company, or capital raises.

Name

Glassnote Records

Legal name

Glassnote Records

Website

https://glassnotemusic.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Glassnote Records is an independent record label founded in 2007 by Daniel Glass, headquartered in New York with offices in Los Angeles, London, and Toronto. It signs, develops, and monetizes a roster of indie, alternative, folk, electronic, and pop artists through streaming, sync/licensing, and direct-to-consumer merchandise channels.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Independent Record Label

NAICS

Record Production and Distribution (51225)

akta.pro primary industry

Record Labels (Major & Independent) (MPAIAAAA)

Keywords

• Independent record label
• Music publishing
• Synchronization licensing
• Artist development
• Music merchandise sales

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Streaming Royalties: Revenue earned from plays of the label's catalog across Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, and SoundCloud. Royalty share arrangements with artists.
2. Sync & Licensing Fees: Licensing of master recordings and compositions for placement in films, TV shows, commercials, video games, and trailers. Operated through a dedicated Head of Sync & Licensing role.
3. Merchandise & Physical Sales: Direct-to-consumer sales of merchandise, vinyl, and physical music products through shop.glassnotemusic.com; managed by Head of Production & E-Commerce.
4. Sub-Licensing / Co-Label Distribution: Co-release and distribution deals with partner labels (e.g., Foy Vance releases via Ed Sheeran's Gingerbread Man Records, a division of Atlantic Records).

Go-to-market motion4 records

Core offering

Glassnote Records is an independent record label founded in 2007 that signs, develops, releases and promotes music from a roster of indie, alternative, folk, electronic and pop artists. Its operations span four offices (New York, Los Angeles, London, Toronto) and encompass artist signing, long-term artist development, curated cross-platform playlists, direct-to-consumer merchandise/physical sales through shop.glassnotemusic.com, and a dedicated sync and licensing business placing catalog music in films, TV shows, commercials and video games.

Product overview

Glassnote Records operates as an independent music record label rather than a traditional software product. Its core offering is the Glassnote Records Label, anchored by an artist roster and catalog spanning indie, alternative, folk, electronic, R&B and pop genres. The label is supported by four major product/service modules: (1) the Glassnote Playlists module, a curated editorial surface that distributes staff-curated playlists across Spotify, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Apple Music and SoundCloud; (2) the Glassnote Shop, an e-commerce storefront for artist merchandise and physical music releases; (3) the Sync & Licensing service, which places catalog music in commercials, TV, film, and video games; and (4) the Artist Roster / Catalog, the underlying portfolio of signed artists that feeds all other modules. Together these form a unified label platform with offices in New York, Los Angeles, London and Toronto.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Glassnote Records Label Independent music record label founded in 2007 by Daniel Glass, with offices in New York, Los Angeles, London and Toronto. The label signs, develops, releases and promotes music from a roster of indie, alternative, folk, electronic and pop artists including Childish Gambino, Phoenix, Mumford & Sons, CHVRCHES, Daughter, The Temper Trap, Baio and many others.
• Glassnote Playlists Curated playlists produced by the Glassnote staff for various moods and occasions, including Glassnote Hits, Noteworthy, Staff Picks, Chill Out, Dance Party Hits and Workout Vibes. Distributed and accessible across Spotify, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Apple Music, and SoundCloud.
• Glassnote Shop E-commerce storefront enabling direct-to-consumer merchandise and physical music sales for Glassnote Records artists and the label.
• Sync & Licensing Music synchronization and licensing service placing Glassnote catalog music in commercials, television shows, films, and video games (e.g., Oberhofer's placements in T-Mobile and Expedia ads, Vampire Diaries, Broad City, Teen Wolf, and Netflix's BoJack Horseman).

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Domino Recording Company: UK-headquartered independent label with strong US presence (Arctic Monkeys, Franz Ferdinand, Animal Collective). Closely parallels Glassnote's transatlantic operational model and indie/alternative roster orientation.
• Sub Pop Records: Iconic independent record label founded in 1986 and now partially owned by Warner Music Group. Comparable to Glassnote as a long-tenured indie label with Grammy-winning catalog artists (Nirvana, Beach House, Fleet Foxes), focused on alternative and indie rock with curated A&R approach.
• Secretly Group: Independent umbrella for Secretly Canadian, Jagjaguwar, and Dead Oceans (Bon Iver, Phoebe Bridgers, Khruangbin). Comparable to Glassnote in indie/alternative focus, multi-label structure, and recent Grammy and industry recognition.
• Merge Records: Independent US label co-founded by members of Arcade Fire with deep indie/alternative catalog (Arcade Fire, Neutral Milk Hotel, Superchunk). Comparable scale and artist-development ethos to Glassnote.
• Big Machine Label Group: Nashville-based independent label behind Taylor Swift, Florida Georgia Line, and The Band Perry. Comparable as a high-profile independent label with catalog of multi-platinum artists, though country-focused rather than Glassnote's indie/alternative orientation.
• XL Recordings: Beggars Group-owned independent label behind Adele, Radiohead, The White Stripes, M.I.A., and Tyler the Creator. Directly comparable to Glassnote as a critically acclaimed indie label with global reach, strong sync presence, and history of developing artists who later win major Grammys.
• ATO Records: Independent label founded by Dave Matthews Band's manager Coran Capshaw. Similar mid-size indie positioning to Glassnote with roster spanning rock, folk, and Americana, plus similar multi-revenue-stream approach including sync placements.
• Partisan Records: Brooklyn-based independent label with alternative and indie roster (IDLES, Cigarettes After Sex, Fontaines D.C.). Comparable to Glassnote as a contemporary indie label with strong A&R reputation and growing catalog value.

Broad incumbents

• BMG: Major-independent hybrid label/distributor owned by Bertelsmann with broad recorded music and publishing portfolio. Comparable to Glassnote as a co-label distribution partner (Half Moon Run releases) and as a broader independent competitor in sync/licensing markets.
• Concord Music Group: Large independent music company spanning recorded music, publishing, and theatrical licensing with Rounder, Fantasy, Loma Vista, and other imprints. Comparable as a scaled independent competitor that has used acquisitions to consolidate indie catalogs.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/glassnotemusic
• Facebookfacebook.com/glassnote
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/glassnote-entertainment-group

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Glassnote Records