What COBRASIDE DISTRIBUTION INC does

Cobraside Distribution Inc is a privately held, family-owned wholesale record distributor founded in 2001 and based at a single warehouse facility on San Fernando Road in Glendale, Los Angeles County, California. The company operates as a centralized fulfillment hub where independent and major record labels and manufacturers deliver inventory in physical formats — primarily LPs, CDs, and cassettes, with DVDs also listed — for redistribution to verified retail accounts. With a team of approximately eight employees, Cobraside functions as a low-overhead, curation-driven intermediary in the physical music media supply chain, executing same-day shipping and customized assortments matched to each store's customer base.

The company's go-to-market is a B2B wholesale model in which record retailers apply for a verified account on cobraside.com and gain access to the full catalog, weekly email communications on new releases, restocks, and upcoming titles, free US shipping on orders exceeding 25 pieces, and the option to shop in person at the Glendale warehouse Monday through Thursday. There are no order minimums and payment is collected at signup and charged when orders ship via ACH, Wise/wire transfer, PayPal, or credit card. A separate consumer-facing storefront at cobrasiderecords.com sells select titles directly to the public, and international wholesale accounts are accepted with shipping costs determined per account. Cobraside holds no patents, no disclosed technology or AI capabilities, no funding rounds, and no external institutional investors, and operates without a parent company or known subsidiaries, reflecting a bootstrapped, founder/family-controlled operating model.

Name

COBRASIDE DISTRIBUTION INC

Legal name

Cobraside Distribution Inc

Website

https://cobraside.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Cobraside Distribution is a family-owned B2B wholesale distributor of vinyl records, CDs, cassettes, and DVDs, supplying independent and chain record retailers across the US and internationally from a single Glendale, California warehouse since 2001.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Physical Music Media Distribution

NAICS

Motion Picture and Video Distribution (512120)

SIC

Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Distribution (7822)

akta.pro primary industry

Recorded Music Distribution (Physical & Digital) (MPAIAAAC)

Keywords

• Vinyl record distribution
• Physical music wholesale
• CD distribution services
• Independent label distribution
• Record store supply

Headquarters

HQ city

Glendale

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Wholesale Record Distribution: Cobraside operates as a record distributor, acting as a warehouse where record labels and manufacturers send their products for resale. Record stores can order inventory at wholesale pricing. The company takes orders from verified retail accounts and charges payment when orders ship.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Cobraside Distribution Inc is a wholesale distributor of physical music media (vinyl records/LPs, CDs, cassettes, and DVDs) operating from a Glendale, California warehouse. The company sources inventory from independent and major record labels and resells it to record retailers at wholesale pricing through a B2B ordering platform, offering same-day shipping and weekly new-release notifications.

Product overview

Cobraside Distribution Inc operates as a B2B record distribution company offering a wholesale ordering platform where record retailers can purchase inventory at wholesale pricing. The company distributes both independent and major label releases of LPs (vinyl records), CDs, and cassettes. The primary offering is their web-based B2B ordering platform accessible at cobraside.com, which provides retailers full catalog access, weekly new release notifications, restock alerts, and upcoming title information. Same-day shipping and order handling with care is provided. For consumers, select titles are available at cobrasiderecords.com.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Cobraside B2B Wholesale Distribution Service

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Acoustic Sounds / Music Direct: Acoustic Sounds (Music Direct) is a US-based specialty distributor and retailer focused on audiophile-grade vinyl reissues, jazz, and classical LPs. Like Cobraside, it specializes in physical music distribution with deep indie and reissue label relationships, and operates both wholesale and D2C channels.
• Alliance Entertainment: Alliance Entertainment is the largest US wholesale distributor of physical music and video, serving independent and major retailers nationwide. Like Cobraside, it supplies record stores with LPs, CDs, and DVDs at wholesale, but at a substantially larger scale and with broader catalog breadth. It is the most direct wholesale competitor in the same B2B channel.
• Amoeba Music: Amoeba Music is one of the largest independent record retailers in the US and operates a significant wholesale and D2C business alongside its three flagship stores. Like Cobraside, it sells LPs, CDs, cassettes, and DVDs to both walk-in retail customers and online buyers across the US.
• Forced Exposure: Forced Exposure is an independent wholesale distributor specializing in underground, experimental, and indie music across vinyl, CD, and cassette formats. Like Cobraside, it serves record retailers with curated catalog from independent labels and emphasizes same/next-day fulfillment to small store accounts.
• Revolver Midheaven: Revolver (which merged with Midheaven) is a wholesale and retail distributor of independent music, focused on indie, punk, jazz, and avant-garde titles on vinyl and CD. Like Cobraside, it serves independent record retailers across the US and Canada, and operates both B2B and D2C channels.
• Super Distribution: Super Distribution is a Canadian-based wholesale distributor serving independent record stores across North America with vinyl, CD, and DVD inventory. Like Cobraside, it acts as a multi-label consolidation hub for indie retailers, with comparable no-minimum policies and same-day fulfillment.
• PIAS: PIAS is a leading international independent music distribution company working with hundreds of indie labels to deliver physical and digital releases globally. Like Cobraside, it is a label-agnostic distributor serving both retail and digital channels, but at a substantially larger scale across multiple continents.

Broad incumbents

• Epitaph Records: Epitaph Records is a large independent punk/indie label that also operates distribution services for affiliated imprints (e.g., ANTI-, Revolver). Like Cobraside, it distributes vinyl and merch to independent retailers, but as a label-owned distributor rather than a label-agnostic specialist.
• Caroline Distribution (Universal Music Group): Caroline Distribution is the Universal Music Group division responsible for distributing independent labels' physical and digital releases. It operates at vastly larger scale than Cobraside and serves the same indie retailer customer base, but as part of a much broader major-label portfolio rather than as a standalone specialist.

Regional players

• Alternative Tentacles: Alternative Tentacles is an independent punk label that also runs a mail-order wholesale service for select stores, primarily in the US West Coast and select international markets. Like Cobraside, it specializes in vinyl distribution for punk, avant-garde, and indie labels, but operates at smaller scale with a narrower genre focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cobraside-distribution-inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 COBRASIDE DISTRIBUTION INC