Ostereo

Ostereo is a UK-based record label, publisher, influencer, and marketing company using technology to promote streams and video views for its artists. The organization is also known for providing management services. Ostereo was founded in April 2016 by Howard Murphy.

History
In 2010, Blackpool-born Howard Murphy founded Amurco, a music sync and licensing agency servicing brands and broadcasters such as Ferrari, IKEA, Netflix and MTV. Murphy launched Ostereo in Manchester in 2016. Its business model is to combine the aspects of the traditional music industry, with technology and data to promote artists and build their careers in the modern day media industry. To this end, the company places emphasis on social media such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, user-generated-content platforms like YouTube, TikTok and music streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music and Deezer. Ostereo was first located at The Landing at MediaCityUK, a hub for high-growth technology. As of 2023, Ostereo is headquartered in both Manchester and London, with team members located in both cities.

Model of Operation
Ostereo is known for working with artists, writers and producers for whom it acts as a label, management agency and publisher. The company and its artists earn their income from music streaming, performance royalties, YouTube ad revenue, live performances, merchandise and other performative activities. In its first year of operation, Ostereo placed its artists across different digital service providers that received 400 million music streams and over 1 billion YouTube views.

Artists
One of the first few artists whom Ostereo promoted, Joel Corry, released his single, Sunlight, through Ostereo in 2017. Joel Corry established his DJ profile on MTV's Geordie Shore. He has completed a club tour of the United Kingdom. Later, Corry reached number 1 in the UK singles charts through his collaboration with MNEK, Head & Heart, released in July 2020.

In March 2018, Ostereo released Dutch singer-songwriter Nina June's album, Bon Voyage. Prior to that, the track "For Love" received over four million Spotify listens, and along with "When We Fall" was used in Dutch, Belgian and American films and television programs. Jimmy Choo, LK Bennett, Hobbs and Farrow & Ball added "Til Dawn" to their global in-store playlists.

In late 2019, Ostereo released the debut singles Good Vibe, Are U My Villain and Starlight from Korean pop sensation, J.Fla. In their first six months they have accumulated over 10 million streams and views across global music platforms. J.Fla has reached the charts in Singapore, Taiwan, Korea and China by implementing peer-to-peer approach and an engaging online presence. As of June 2023, Fla has amassed over 17 million subscribers on her YouTube channel.

In 2019, Ostereo released Chapter 11, the debut EP of London-based singer songwriter, Mysie. The EP received critical acclaim and saw Mysie featured on the Independent’s Ones to Watch, secure radio attention from BBC 6 Music and a slot at The Great Escape in May 2020. In 2020, Mysie was awarded an Ivor Novello in the Rising Star Awards category.

Bulgarian artist VICTORIA signed to the label in late 2019 and her first release under Ostereo, Tears Getting Sober, was the Bulgarian entry for the 2020 Eurovision Song Contest. The single was widely touted as the bookies’ favorite to win the competition. Due to its cancellation in 2020, VICTORIA was invited back to Eurovision in 2021 to perform original track ‘Growing Up Is Getting Old’ on behalf of Bulgaria. VICTORIA came third in the Semi Final, and finished in the Final at 11th place with 170 points.

Pianist Karim Kamar's Small Mvmnts album, released in May 2020 under Ostereo, received considerable attention from listeners and publications including The Independent. Following his initial breakthrough, Kamar has garnered considerable attention and achieved a series of viral moments through his captivating public piano performance videos. Notably, in 2022, he was given the honor of inaugurating the Sky Sports coverage for the F1 Silverstone Grand Prix. In March 2022, Karim Kamar became the latest member of the PETROF Piano family.

In January 2020, Ostereo signed Indian pop sensation AiSh to their label. AiSh has over six million YouTube subscribers and four million TikTok followers. Since signing to Ostereo, AiSh has released a string of covers and original singles to her engaged audience.

In February 2021, Ostereo signed Indonesian artist Shania Yan adding it to its expanding roster of digital talent. Yan routinely performs her covers to her cumulative online audience of over two million. In July 2021, Shania Yan released her rendition of George Benson’s ‘Nothing’s Gonna Change My Love For You’. The cover was a viral hit, achieving over forty million YouTube views and fourteen million Spotify streams. Yan has also released nine EPs to music streaming platforms.

In 2021, Ostereo signed Filipino singer Noah Raquel. Using only his iPhone, Raquel is a producer who got his start posting DIY covers to his YouTube audience. As of June 2023, Raquel has 500,000 subscribers on YouTube, and 900,000 followers on TikTok. He is a collaborator with BandLab, posting numerous sponsored videos in partnership with the company. In September 2022, Noah Raquel released his first original single with Ostereo, 'Nakalimutan'. The track reached over 45,000 Spotify streams in its opening weekend, was featured by MTV Asia.

Ostereo Publishing
In late 2019, John Saunderson joined Ostereo after serving at Notting Hill Music for 15 years. Ostereo Publishing has, since inception, landed a number of opportunities for its writers including a sync placement on a New Balance advert for artist/writer Bamtone primarily for a Facebook campaign.

In October 2020, Ostereo concluded a deal with Distiller Music, which sees Ostereo act as sub-publisher for Distiller's publishing catalogue and roster of writers and producers. Distiller were previously working with Kobalt in this regard. The deal lead to Ostereo’s management clients, Tom Enzy and Rion S attending a virtual writing camp in Spring 2021 with Distiller Music’s writers during which they penned the commercial hit, ‘In The Dark’ released by Sophie and the Giants and Purple Disco Machine which went on to achieve chart success in several European territories.

Cuts with major artists have been commonplace for the young publishing company since launch, including Able Faces’ cut on Marc Benjamin's ‘Losing Focus’ released in 2020, and Canadian singer Nina Carr’s part on Effemar’s Saturday Night, released on Selected In 2021.

In May 2023, Ostereo launched a new series of songwriting camps, 'Song Circle'. The inaugural edition of Song Circle was held at Abbey Road Studios and was conducted in partnership with Warner Chappell Music Benelux, with both publishers including songwriters and producers from their respective rosters.

Partnerships
In 2020, Ostereo completed deals with Peermusic UK and Sony Music Japan to administer their publishing royalties and ensure their artists are properly remunerated for the use of their music.

Plymouth Marjon University
In 2022, Ostereo launched a new division, Ostereo Education, focused on the provision of a higher education degree programme, BA Hons Music Business, awarded by Plymouth Marjon University