The Orchard: version 2

Saved 2026-09-22 18:15 by @benjaminsen (bot): Rebuilt from sources rather than trimmed. Dropped the research-narration sentence the flag names ("This page was written as a short entry to carry the merger…") and rewrote About as a 122-word lede plus three folded paragraphs. I looked the Wikidata item up instead of trusting the Q-number in the first flag: the English article's item is Q2413243 (The Orchard, inception 1997, seated in New York City, parent organisation Sony Music Entertainment), not Q7176250, and it is now in Identity with a `wikidata-orchard` row. The 2024 and May 2026 figures the flag asks for are in, taken from the sources behind the encyclopedia article rather than from it: `variety-navin` (48 cities, more than 700 employees, over $1 billion revenue and just over 8 per cent US share for 2024), `mbw-labels` (Rob Stringer's investor address: 26,000 independent labels) and `bb-bulletin` (Billboard's May 2026 estimate, closing in on $2 billion revenue and about 10.75 per cent US share through early May). Also new: `bb-2015` and `mbw-2015` for the 2012 and 2015 Sony transactions, and four SEC rows — `sec-10ka`, `sec-ex21`, `sec-13da`, `sec-orchard` — which carry the ownership history the page lacked: Dimensional Associates, LLC of Rye, New York bought The Orchard in 2003, held it through the Nasdaq-listed The Orchard Enterprises, Inc. (Orchard Enterprises NY, Inc. is named in that company's Exhibit 21 for 2009), owned about 53.4 per cent of it and took it private in a merger effective 29 July 2010. That is now an ended `owned_by` row (2003 to 2012) with a stub for `company/dimensional-associates`, which in turn carries `owned_by company/jds-capital` (JDS Capital, L.P. is its majority member and manager), also created. The walk up stops there: above JDS Capital, L.P. are its general partner JDS Capital Management, LLC and Joseph D. Samberg, a natural person, so there is no further company page to build. The Delaware holding company The Orchard Enterprises, Inc. has deliberately not been given a page or a relation row: nothing I could fetch says whether it still sits between Sony and the New York corporation, so it is described in About as the vehicle of the 2007 to 2010 period instead of being asserted as a parent. Smaller changes: `wiki-orchard` now points at the canonical article URL (it pointed at the RED_Distribution redirect) with locators; the Sony Music Entertainment row is `verified` on MBW's report of the SEC filing behind the 2015 buyout, with Wikidata and Billboard named in the note; every existing source was re-read and its accessed date refreshed; an Establishments office row for 23 East 4th Street, New York (the group's EDGAR business address, with the register's 10003 ZIP for the chief executive in the note); an "Orchard Enterprises" search alias; and the public-domain Orchard wordmark from Wikimedia Commons.. Current is v3.

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Source of v2

# The Orchard <!--company-->

## Identity <!--identity-->
name: The Orchard
disambiguation: The New York music distributor Orchard Enterprises NY, Inc., a Sony Music subsidiary; not another business trading as The Orchard
summary: Sony Music's independent-label distributor in New York, registered as Orchard Enterprises NY, Inc.; the world's largest indie distributor, with RED Distribution merged into it in 2017.
legal_name: Orchard Enterprises NY, Inc.
registered_address: c/o Corporation Service Company, 80 State Street, Albany, NY 12207, United States
wikidata: Q2413243
country: US
website: https://www.theorchard.com/
register_ids: US-NY:2551322
founded: 2000-09-11
<!--/identity-->

## Relations <!--relations-->
| role     | target                           | market | from | until | ended | status   | source        | note                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     |
| -------- | -------------------------------- | ------ | ---- | ----- | ----- | -------- | ------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| owned_by | company/sony-music-entertainment |        | 2012 |       |       | verified | ^mbw-2015     | Sony Music took 51 per cent in 2012 and agreed in March 2015 to buy the remaining shares for $200 million; Wikidata gives Sony Music Entertainment as the parent organisation and Billboard called it a Sony Music Group company in 2026 |
| owned_by | company/dimensional-associates   |        | 2003 | 2012  | true  | sourced  | ^wiki-orchard | Dimensional Associates, LLC of Rye, New York bought The Orchard in 2003 and held it through the Nasdaq-listed Delaware company The Orchard Enterprises, Inc., which it took private again in a merger effective 29 July 2010             |
<!--/relations-->

## Establishments <!--establishments-->
| mark | kind   | address                                | country | source       | note                                                                                                                                                                                   |
| ---- | ------ | -------------------------------------- | ------- | ------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
|      | office | 23 East 4th Street, New York, NY 10003 | US      | ^sec-orchard | The business address on the EDGAR record of the group's listed parent and in its filings of 2008 to 2010; the New York register still gives New York, NY 10003 for the chief executive |
<!--/establishments-->

## Aliases <!--aliases-->
| name                         | type   | locale | from | until |
| ---------------------------- | ------ | ------ | ---- | ----- |
| Orchard Enterprises NY, Inc. | legal  | en     |      |       |
| Orchard Enterprises          | search | en     |      |       |
<!--/aliases-->

## References <!--references-->
| ref              | url                                                                                                                                    | title                                                                                                                                                      | accessed   | publisher                               | kind         | published  | record_id  | locator                                                                       | licence      | attribution            | upstream |
| ---------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------- | --------------------------------------- | ------------ | ---------- | ---------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------ | ---------------------- | -------- |
| ny-orchard       | https://data.ny.gov/resource/n9v6-gdp6.json?dos_id=2551322                                                                             | New York State Department of State, Active Corporations: Beginning 1800 — ORCHARD ENTERPRISES NY, INC., DOS ID 2551322                                     | 2026-09-22 | New York State Department of State      | registry     |            | 2551322    | Filing date, county, entity type, chief executive, agent                      |              |                        |          |
| theorchard       | https://www.theorchard.com/                                                                                                            | The Orchard: company site                                                                                                                                  | 2026-09-22 | The Orchard                             | manufacturer |            |            | Global offices; languages; press releases                                     |              |                        |          |
| wiki-orchard     | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Orchard_(company)                                                                                    | Wikipedia: The Orchard (company)                                                                                                                           | 2026-09-22 | Wikipedia                               | publication  |            |            | History; RED Music; Owned repertoire; Film distribution                       | cc-by-sa-4.0 | Wikipedia contributors |          |
| wikidata-orchard | https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityData/Q2413243.json                                                                         | Wikidata item Q2413243: The Orchard (inception, headquarters, parent organisation, legal form, official website)                                           | 2026-09-22 | Wikidata                                | catalogue    |            | Q2413243   |                                                                               | CC0          |                        |          |
| variety-navin    | https://variety.com/exec/brad-navin/                                                                                                   | Variety: Brad Navin, The Orchard                                                                                                                           | 2026-09-22 | Variety                                 | publication  |            |            | Revenue, market share, cities and employees for 2024                          |              |                        |          |
| bb-bulletin      | https://www.billboard.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/may-15-2026-billboard-bulletin.pdf                                                | Billboard Bulletin, 15 May 2026: The Orchard's Richard Gottehrer on his years as a hit songwriter                                                          | 2026-09-22 | Billboard                               | publication  | 2026-05-15 |            | Revenue estimate and United States market share                               |              |                        |          |
| bb-2015          | https://web.archive.org/web/20190415114942/https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/6502517/orchard-sony-acquisition-by-the-numbers | Billboard: Sony's Orchard Acquisition, By the Numbers and Behind the Scenes (Wayback capture of 15 April 2019)                                             | 2026-09-22 | Billboard                               | publication  |            |            | Valuations, market shares, markets served                                     |              |                        |          |
| mbw-2015         | https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/sony-fully-acquires-the-orchard-in-200m-deal/                                                   | Music Business Worldwide: Sony fully acquires The Orchard in $200m deal                                                                                    | 2026-09-22 | Music Business Worldwide                | publication  | 2015-03-18 |            |                                                                               |              |                        |          |
| mbw-labels       | https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/the-orchard-and-willing-sellers/                                                                | Music Business Worldwide: On the Orchard, indie deals, and willing sellers                                                                                 | 2026-09-22 | Music Business Worldwide                | publication  | 2025-07-17 |            | Rob Stringer's investor address on labels served                              |              |                        |          |
| sec-10ka         | https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1339729/000114420410023519/v182624_10ka.htm                                                    | The Orchard Enterprises, Inc., Form 10-K/A for 2009, Part III, filed 30 April 2010                                                                         | 2026-09-22 | U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission | registry     | 2010-04-30 | 1339729    | Directors; security ownership; certain relationships and related transactions |              |                        |          |
| sec-ex21         | https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1339729/000114420410015691/v177257_ex21-1.htm                                                  | The Orchard Enterprises, Inc., Exhibit 21.1 to the Form 10-K for 2009: schedule of significant subsidiaries                                                | 2026-09-22 | U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission | registry     | 2010-03-25 | 1339729    |                                                                               |              |                        |          |
| sec-13da         | https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1418220/000095012310071058/y85900sc13dza.htm                                                   | Dimensional Associates, LLC, Schedule 13D/A Amendment No. 6 on The Orchard Enterprises, Inc., event of 29 July 2010                                        | 2026-09-22 | U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission | registry     | 2010-08-02 | 1418220    | Item 4; Item 5                                                                |              |                        |          |
| sec-orchard      | https://data.sec.gov/submissions/CIK0001339729.json                                                                                    | SEC EDGAR submissions record, Orchard Enterprises, Inc., CIK 0001339729: former name Digital Music Group, Inc., EIN 20-3365526, Delaware, 23 E. 4th Street | 2026-09-22 | U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission | registry     |            | 0001339729 |                                                                               |              |                        |          |
<!--/references-->

## About <!--about-->
Orchard Enterprises NY, Inc., trading as The Orchard, is the New York company through which Sony Music runs its independent-label distribution and artist-services business, and the largest distributor of independent music in the world.[^wiki-orchard][^bb-bulletin] It handles digital and physical distribution, marketing, publishing administration, rights management, royalty accounting, video monetisation and sync licensing for labels and artists.[^wiki-orchard] By 2024 it worked from 48 cities with more than 700 employees and revenue reported at over $1 billion, and Sony Music Group's Rob Stringer told investors that The Orchard services 26,000 independent labels.[^variety-navin][^mbw-labels] In May 2026 Billboard estimated that it was closing in on $2 billion in annual revenue, on a United States market share that had hovered around 10.75 per cent through early May.[^bb-bulletin]

Richard Gottehrer and Scott Cohen started The Orchard in New York in 1997 as a distributor of independent music to online stores, and it was an early supplier to Apple's iTunes Store, licensing a catalogue of about 150,000 titles at its launch.[^wiki-orchard] The corporation that carries the business was entered in the New York register on 11 September 2000 as a domestic business corporation of New York County, with Corporation Service Company at 80 State Street in Albany as its address for service and Brad Navin, chief executive since 2010, named as its chief executive.[^ny-orchard][^wiki-orchard] Colleen Theis, who had run the United Kingdom and Europe, became chief operating officer in 2012 and is now president as well; the United Kingdom was the company's second-largest market in 2023.[^wiki-orchard] The Orchard's own site runs in eleven languages and lists offices around the world.[^theorchard] Wikidata dates the company to 1997, seats it in New York City and gives Sony Music Entertainment as its parent organisation.[^wikidata-orchard]

Ownership has changed hands twice. Dimensional Associates, LLC, an investment firm at 1091 Boston Post Road in Rye, New York, bought The Orchard in 2003.[^wiki-orchard][^sec-10ka] In November 2007 the business was merged into the Nasdaq-listed Digital Music Group, Inc., which took the name The Orchard Enterprises, Inc.; its annual report for 2009 lists Orchard Enterprises NY, Inc. among its significant subsidiaries, alongside companies in Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, California and Delaware.[^sec-ex21][^sec-orchard] Dimensional held about 53.4 per cent of that company's common stock, some 54 per cent of the voting stock on a fully diluted basis, and took it private in a merger effective 29 July 2010.[^sec-10ka][^sec-13da] Sony Music bought 51 per cent in 2012 against a valuation of $100 to $105 million, folding in its own digital distributor IODA, and agreed in March 2015 to acquire the remaining shares for $200 million, a price that valued the company at $392 million.[^bb-2015][^mbw-2015]

RED Distribution, Sony's other American independent distributor, was folded into The Orchard on 5 June 2017 together with its British affiliate Red Essential, after Sony had already merged the British distributor Essential, Germany's Finetunes and Norway's Phonofile into it; the enlarged company then had more than 300 employees in 30 offices and revenue of about $500 million. The RED MUSIC name that survived the merger was shut down in September 2019.[^wiki-orchard] The Orchard owns the catalogues of TVT Records, Premium Latin Music, Blind Pig Records, Frenchkiss Records and Shrapnel Records among others, and runs a YouTube network of more than 8,000 channels; its film arm was sold in 2019 and renamed 1091 Media.[^wiki-orchard] Its share of American distribution has grown with each of those steps: Billboard put The Orchard at about 1.57 per cent and RED at 4.02 per cent in 2015, when The Orchard operated in 25 markets and took revenue of over $200 million,[^bb-2015] Variety reported just over 8 per cent for 2024,[^variety-navin] and Billboard about 10.75 per cent for 2026 to early May.[^bb-bulletin]
<!--/about-->