Curated News
By: NewsRamp Editorial Staff
January 08, 2026
Unchained Music & NOISE Foundation Partner for Transparent Artist Support
TLDR
- Unchained Music's partnership with NOISE Foundation gives artists a competitive edge through transparent marketing campaigns and clear cost structures for better career decisions.
- The partnership creates infrastructure with standardized agreements and consistent reporting to address opaque recoupment arrangements and unclear marketing spend in music distribution.
- This collaboration improves transparency in music funding and promotion, empowering independent artists with control and clarity to build sustainable careers.
- Unchained Music and NOISE Foundation are tackling industry opacity by offering optional, clearly defined services that separate distribution from promotional support.
Impact - Why it Matters
This news matters because it directly confronts the systemic lack of transparency that has long plagued the music industry, particularly for independent artists. For musicians, unclear contracts, hidden fees, and opaque accounting for marketing spend can turn success into financial loss, eroding trust and making career planning difficult. By creating infrastructure for auditable, clearly defined support services, this partnership empowers artists with the information and control needed to make strategic decisions about their work. It shifts power dynamics, promoting a more equitable ecosystem where artists can understand exactly what they are paying for and what returns to expect. For the industry at large, it sets a new benchmark for accountability, potentially forcing other players to adopt clearer practices. Ultimately, this move supports the sustainability of independent music careers, ensuring creators are fairly compensated and can retain ownership, which fosters a more diverse and vibrant cultural landscape.
Summary
In a significant move for the independent music industry, Unchained Music, a distribution platform championing artist ownership and clarity, has announced a strategic partnership with the NOISE Foundation. This collaboration aims to develop new infrastructure specifically designed to tackle pervasive issues of transparency and accountability in music funding, promotion, and rights management. By combining Unchained Music's global distribution reach with the NOISE Foundation's expertise in creating structured, auditable campaign support, the partnership directly addresses long-standing artist grievances like unclear marketing expenditures, opaque recoupment arrangements, and a general lack of visibility into how promotional efforts are structured and measured.
The core of this initiative involves offering artists on the Unchained Music platform optional, clearly defined services such as curated marketing campaigns, promotional support, and publishing administration. Crucially, these services are offered separately from the core distribution function, a model designed to empower artists with greater insight into campaign structure, costs, and outcomes. As CEO Matthew Waters of Unchained Music highlighted, the goal is to create clearer, more accountable systems so artists can make informed career decisions without sacrificing control. The NOISE Foundation's role as a service and infrastructure organization is to document and manage these campaigns in a transparent, standardized way, providing consistent reporting and long-term stewardship.
Importantly, Unchained Music will continue to operate as a standalone distributor with no changes to existing artist ownership, royalty flows, or account terms. Participation in any new services introduced through this partnership is entirely optional, with no automatic enrollment or obligation, preserving the platform's foundational commitment to artist autonomy. This partnership represents a concerted effort to raise industry standards by providing independent musicians with the tools and transparent infrastructure needed to build sustainable careers, moving away from extractive, opaque models that have historically dominated the sector. Additional details on specific programs and participation are expected to be announced in the coming months.
Source Statement
This curated news summary relied on content disributed by 24-7 Press Release. Read the original source here, Unchained Music & NOISE Foundation Partner for Transparent Artist Support
