Svart Records

What Svart Records does

Svart Records, operating through the legal entity Oy Svart Musik Ab, is a Finland-based independent record label founded in 2009 and headquartered in Turku. The company specializes in releasing and distributing heavy music — including metal, punk, rock, jazz, and experimental genres — on physical formats such as vinyl records, CDs, tapes, and supplementary merchandise and books. It functions simultaneously as a record label (Svart Releases and sub-imprints such as Cosmic Key Creations, Funeral Industries, and Chapters), a distributor of non-Svart titles from other labels (including releases from Ulver, Godflesh, and Cannibal Corpse), and a direct-to-consumer retailer. The company maintains its own warehouse and fulfillment operation in Turku, a primary multilingual webstore at svartrecords.com, and a separate regional storefront at svart.ochre.store serving US, UK, and Australian customers with worldwide delivery and a lost-parcel replacement policy.

The commercial model is unit-priced physical goods retail: vinyl typically priced €13-€42, CDs and sale vinyl from €5, and test pressings from €40-€200, with promotional sale events driving volume. Revenue is generated through (1) sale of Svart-owned label releases, (2) distribution fees/transaction resales of third-party titles, and (3) ancillary merchandise, books, and digital gift cards. Customer acquisition is primarily organic, driven by a website featuring new-release banners and pre-order listings, supplemented by Instagram, Facebook, and an email newsletter. Target customers are split into two primary persona segments — vinyl/music collectors seeking limited pressings and underground/experimental music enthusiasts — with a secondary wholesale segment of record stores and distributors purchasing for resale.

The organization is small (1-10 employees), privately held with no disclosed parent, venture backing, or public listing, and is operationally consolidated at a single Turku address. There is no disclosed AI/ML capability, no public API, no proprietary technology platform, and no regulatory actions, mergers, or leadership changes in the available record. The product cadence in 2025 — including anniversary reissues, first-time vinyl pressings, and debut albums across multiple genres — suggests an active and continuing catalog expansion strategy rather than a turnaround or scale-up phase.

Name

Svart Records

Legal name

Oy Svart Musik Ab

Website

https://svartrecords.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Svart Records is a Finnish independent record label and distributor based in Turku, releasing and selling heavy music (metal, punk, rock, jazz, experimental) on vinyl, CD, and cassette worldwide through its own webstores to vinyl collectors and underground music enthusiasts.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Turku

HQ country

Finland

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Physical Records and Music Sales: Manufactures and resells physical music formats including vinyl records, CDs, tapes, and music merchandise. Goods are either manufactured or imported by Oy Svart Musik Ab and sold through their webstore.
2. Distribution (Non-Svart Titles): Operates as a distributor for non-Svart record titles, selling releases from other labels alongside their own Svart Releases.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Svart Records is an independent Finnish record label and music merchandise company that produces, releases, and distributes physical music formats (vinyl records, CDs, cassette tapes) along with artist merchandise, books, and limited/special edition pressings. It also operates as a distributor for non-Svart titles from other international labels. Sales are conducted worldwide through its own e-commerce webstores from its Turku, Finland warehouse, with worldwide delivery and lost-parcel replacement.

Product overview

Svart Records is a Finnish independent record label and e-commerce platform specializing in physical music releases. The company operates as both a label (releasing original artist material under Svart Releases) and a distributor (offering non-Svart titles from international artists). Their core product portfolio centers on vinyl records (LPs), CDs, and cassette tapes, supplemented by test pressings, limited edition releases, merchandise, and books. The company operates separate webstores for different geographic regions and maintains a worldwide delivery service with a policy of replacing lost parcels.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Cosmic Key Creations: Sub-imprint for certain releases including Unleashed albums
• Funeral Industries
• F.O.A.D. Records
• Chapters

Products and services

• Vinyl Records Physical vinyl LP records released under the Svart Records label and through its distribution catalog, available in standard black, colored vinyl variants (transparent red, blue, green, yellow), picture discs, and limited/numbered editions for vinyl collectors and heavy music fans.
• CDs Compact disc releases from Svart Records and distributed titles, including standard editions and special formats such as matt-laminate digipaks, sold through the Svart Records webstore.
• Cassette Tapes Physical cassette tape releases from the Svart Records roster and distributed non-Svart titles, sold through the Svart Records webstore.
• Svart Releases (Label Releases) Original releases from Svart Records' own artist roster, spanning metal, punk, rock, jazz, experimental, and avant-garde genres, featuring both Finnish and international artists.
• Distro (Non-Svart Titles) Distribution service selling non-Svart physical music releases from other international labels through the Svart Records webstore, including titles from artists such as Ulver, Godflesh, Cannibal Corpse, and Dark Tranquillity.
• Test Pressings Original archival test pressings from the Svart Records manufacturing archives, presented in special sleeves as rare collectible copies, priced from 40€ to 200€ depending on rarity and demand.
• Specialities & Limited Editions Special and limited edition vinyl releases including colored variants, gatefold editions, numbered pressings, and other exclusive variants for collectors.
• Merchandise Artist and label merchandise including T-shirts, apparel, and other music-related items sold through the Svart Records webstore.
• Books Music-related books and publications offered through the Svart Records webstore.
• Gift Cards Digital gift cards that can be redeemed for Svart Records products through the webstore.
• Warehouse Finds & Last Copies Discounted remaining inventory and last-copy clearance items from the Svart Records warehouse, available through the webstore.
• US/UK/Australia Webstore Separate regional e-commerce webstore (svart.ochre.store) for customers in the US, UK, and Australia, providing localized shipping for Svart Records catalog and merchandise.
• Sonic Rites Releases Special catalog of releases issued under the Sonic Rites sub-brand/imprint of Svart Records, available through the webstore.
• Shaam Larein - Sticka En Kniv I Världen Physical album release by Swedish Goth-tinged Doom Rock band Shaam Larein, distributed through Svart Records.
• Don Johnson Big Band - Midnight Movement Eighth studio album by Don Johnson Big Band featuring 15 tracks with 17 guest artists, released on vinyl and digital via Svart Records in April 2025.

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Peaceville Records: UK independent label focused on doom, black metal, gothic, and dark rock. Similar in genre positioning and physical-format emphasis to Svart's underground heavy music focus, with reissue and collector vinyl offerings.
• Nuclear Blast Records: One of the world's largest independent heavy metal and hard rock labels. Directly comparable to Svart as it signs and releases metal, punk, and adjacent heavy-genre artists on physical formats and operates a global D2C webstore, but at far greater scale.
• Metal Blade Records: Long-running US independent metal label releasing vinyl, CD, and cassette editions of heavy music catalog. Closely comparable to Svart's core Svart Releases and limited-edition vinyl business, with similar collector-oriented audience and D2C store.
• Earache Records: Pioneering UK extreme metal and grindcore label with strong reissue and limited-edition vinyl programs. Comparable to Svart in the heavy/experimental niche and in operating a specialist e-commerce shop.
• Profound Lore Records: Canadian independent label focused on extreme, avant-garde, and experimental metal. Directly comparable to Svart's experimental/avant-garde releases and limited physical pressings, at similar boutique scale.
• Southern Lord Recordings: US independent label covering doom, drone, black metal, and experimental heaviness. Comparable to Svart due to its overlap in doom/black/experimental releases and physical-format D2C approach.
• Prosthetic Records: US independent heavy/extreme music label releasing vinyl, CD, and cassette across metal sub-genres. Comparable to Svart in underground heavy music curation, physical-format releases, and specialty D2C retail.
• Century Media Records: Major independent heavy music label (Sony Music subsidiary) with a roster spanning death metal, black metal, hardcore, and gothic rock. Comparable to Svart in genre focus and physical-format emphasis, though with much broader artist rosters and global marketing reach.
• Relapse Records: US independent label specializing in extreme metal, grindcore, and experimental/noise. Overlaps with Svart's metal/experimental curation and limited-edition physical releases, and operates its own D2C store.
• Season of Mist: French independent label covering black metal, death metal, doom, avant-garde and experimental. Directly comparable to Svart's underground/metal/experimental mix, with a global D2C shop and similar limited-edition vinyl strategy.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/svartrecords
• Instagraminstagram.com/svartrecords
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/oy-svart-musik-ab

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Svart Records