UK-headquartered music e-commerce company Music Glue has announced the opening of a new office in Vancouver, British Columbia, in an effort to help North American artists sell directly to consumers in often complicated European markets.
The office will be headed up by Music Glue’s Chief Product Manager, Tom Maguire, who will be based in Vancouver.
Maguire, who has been with the company since 2007, “will be focused on responding to the increase in demand for the company’s e-commerce services in North America as US music companies seek a partner that can help them establish commercial D2C operations in Europe,” Music Glue said in a statement on Tuesday (April 1).
The company says the Vancouver office aims to solve the various issues facing North American artists who want to engage in direct-to-consumer (D2C) sales in Europe. Among those issues are the EU’s GDPR (General Data Protection Regulations) and GPSR (General Product Safety Regulations), as well as taxes.
“In recent years, shifting EU regulations, combined with the challenges of Brexit, have made direct-to-consumer sales in Europe increasingly difficult,” said Mark Meharry, Music Glue’s Founder and CEO.
“More recently, the looming threat of an international trade war has further complicated matters. For many North American artists and their teams, D2C in Europe must now seem nearly impossible. Enter Music Glue. We’ve worked relentlessly to overcome these regulatory and technical obstacles, so you don’t have to. This allows you to focus on what truly matters (music) without the worry of calculating the correct VAT on a T-shirt sold in Poland through print-on-demand (no tariffs!!).”
Meharry added: “We get it; it’s tedious but getting it wrong can result in costly fines and even additional charges for your fans. Through word-of-mouth, our North American friends have become aware that Music Glue is ‘European Ready’ and it just made sense to have a presence in Vancouver so that we can deal with questions and issues [in] real time.”
“In recent years, shifting EU regulations, combined with the challenges of Brexit, have made direct-to-consumer sales in Europe increasingly difficult.”
Mark Meharry, Music Glue
The Vancouver office will join a growing list of international hubs for Music Glue, which also includes New York and Sydney.
Music Glue is used by artists, labels, merchandisers, and venues to sell music, merch, tickets, and experiences to fans from integrated, customizable websites. The company offers its clients services such as control over data and commerce, sales in multiple languages, and sales across different devices.
The company enables sales in customers’ currencies while accounting to North American sellers in US or Canadian dollars. It also offers the ability to integrate with multiple EU and UK warehouses, as well as integrations with print-on-demand services, to reduce the risk of stock pileups. It can also broker relationships with independent merchandise companies.
Music Glue says it’s “well established” as a partner for music companies operating in the US, and powers the online stores of artists such as Enter Shikari, James Blunt, and Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs, who have US-based suppliers.Music Business Worldwide
