# Distro Nation

> Distro Nation is the music distribution and YouTube rights-management company that began as INDMUSIC in 2011, found its proof point by monetizing thousands of fan-made ‘Harlem Shake’ videos, spent eight years inside Live Nation, returned to independence in 2024, and was acquired by Symphonic in March 2026. Its practical edge was not merely delivering songs to platforms, but finding, claiming, reporting, and paying the scattered revenue around official channels and user-generated video for a roster of more than 200 artists.

- **Founded:** 2011
- **Headquarters:** Beacon, United States
- **Founders:** Jon Baltz (Co-Founder; later CEO), Brandon Martinez (Co-Founder; original CEO)
- **Team size:** The supplied company record lists 1 employee; public acquisition materials refer to Jon Baltz joining Symphonic together with his team, without a count.
- **Products:** YouTube monetization and Content ID, YouTube channel administration, Digital music distribution, Royalty reporting and monthly payouts, Distro Nation Ads
- **Notable:** Used Content ID to claim more than 4,000 ‘Harlem Shake’ videos and helped monetize over 100 million eligible views during the meme’s early surge., Helped turn ‘Harlem Shake’ into a five-week Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 case study for real-time UGC monetization., Grew INDMUSIC to 288 artist and label partners, 17,000 videos and 2.74 million subscribers by November 2013.

## Products & services

- **YouTube monetization and Content ID** — Claims and monetizes official videos and eligible user-generated uploads that use a client’s music.
- **YouTube channel administration** — Hands-on channel optimization, audience growth support, reporting, rights protection and revenue tracking.
- **Digital music distribution** — Distribution services for independent artists and labels that control their music rights.
- **Royalty reporting and monthly payouts** — Transparent reporting, tax onboarding and artist payments; a Trolley integration moved payments roughly one week earlier.
- **Distro Nation Ads** — A self-service advertising tool for artist campaigns across Google, Meta and TikTok, with automated targeting and reporting.
- **Advertiser network** — Targeted pre-roll ads, video integrations and on-site activations across a cross-genre music video network.

## Achievements

- Used Content ID to claim more than 4,000 ‘Harlem Shake’ videos and helped monetize over 100 million eligible views during the meme’s early surge.
- Helped turn ‘Harlem Shake’ into a five-week Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 case study for real-time UGC monetization.
- Grew INDMUSIC to 288 artist and label partners, 17,000 videos and 2.74 million subscribers by November 2013.
- Was acquired by Live Nation in 2016 and operated as Live Nation Video Network for eight years.
- Returned to independence as Distro Nation in 2024 with more than 150 artists, growing to more than 200 by March 2026.
- Improved royalty operations with Trolley, moving artist payments approximately one week earlier.
- Was acquired by Symphonic Distribution in March 2026; Jon Baltz became Head of UGC & Rights Management.

## Latest updates

- **2026-03** — Symphonic Distribution acquired Distro Nation for an undisclosed amount; Jon Baltz and the team joined Symphonic’s UGC and rights-management operation.
- **2024-10** — Distro Nation announced a Trolley integration for artist onboarding, tax reporting and faster royalty payments.
- **2024-05** — RoyFi added Distro Nation as a distribution partner, making royalty advances available to its artists and labels.
- **2024-03** — After eight years within Live Nation, the operation became an independent music distribution company under the Distro Nation name.

## Links

- Website: https://distro-nation.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/distro-nation
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/DistroNationInc
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/distronationinc
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61562562320512

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/distro-nation
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-22