The Circuit Group, which owns management firms Ayita and Seven20, has launched white-label services and rights management arm for independent labels and artists.
The new offering called Beat Switch Music Services has been operating quietly for the past 24 months, building out its operational infrastructure before launching publicly.
Circuit says the new division now works with more than 20 independent labels, including Chris Lake’s Black Book Records, FISHER’s Catch & Release, and Cloonee’s Hell Bent, among others.
“We’ve spent the last two years quietly building and stress-testing this infrastructure with over 20 independent labels. The workflows are proven, the partnerships are locked in, and the results speak for themselves,” said James Sutcliffe, Global COO of The Circuit Group.
“Rather than launch with a concept, we wanted to launch with a track record. The independent sector is growing faster than ever, but the tools and support available to smaller labels haven’t kept pace. We saw an opportunity to change that, and now we have the operational foundation to do it at scale.”
The full roster spans COS Recordings, DHB Records, Diviine, Plant X, Famous When Dead Records, CDC, New World, Konkrte, Techne, Horizn, Eardrums, Kopa Records, and Blowout Beats.
The service offers distribution, rights management, royalty accounting, publishing administration, marketing, and strategic consultancy. It also offers DSP pitching, playlist strategy, sync licensing, A&R support, DJ and radio promotion, marketing release strategy, project and release schedule management, and Web3 platform services.
The news arrives three months after Circuit launched a nine-figure investment fund focused on the acquisition of music assets and other cultural IP. Dubbed Circuit Capital, the new fund is backed by $500 million from Los Angeles-based Create Music Group, which was valued last year at $1 billion following a $165 million investment round.
Circuit was founded in October 2023 by Dean and Jessica Wilson of Seven20; and Brett Fischer, David Gray, and Harvey Tadman of AYITA.
The Beat Switch division is led by Dean Wilson as CEO, alongside James Sutcliffe as Global COO. Sutcliffe previously held leadership positions at Ministry of Sound, LIVENow, and Monster Energy.
Tadman and Gray serve as Co-Presidents of Beat Switch, with Gray also heading publishing. Simon Birkumshaw serves as Director of Operations, Label Services, Charlie Tadman is the Director of A&R, and Francis Brady handles rights and administration. Bianca Price manages social media.
The launch comes nearly two years after Circuit introduced a label services division. Four months later, Circuit partnered with music publisher Kobalt to launch the Circuit Publishing division.
In October 2024, Circuit formed an exclusive distribution partnership with LabelWorx, an independent digital distributor for indie electronic music labels. The collaboration sought to enhance distribution capabilities for Circuit’s roster of artists and labels, including partners such as Catch & Release and diviine.
Sutcliffe told MBW on Thursday (February 25) that “The long-term vision for Beat Switch is to become the definitive services partner for the independent music ecosystem”.
He added: “We want to be the infrastructure layer that empowers the next generation of labels, artists, and rights holders to build sustainable, scalable businesses on their own terms. That means continuing to invest in our technology stack, deepening our industry partnerships, and expanding into new revenue verticals including sync, brand partnerships, and emerging platforms.
“We’re also integrating forward-looking technology into our framework so that as the industry evolves, our clients are already positioned to benefit. Ultimately, we want Beat Switch to be the reason an independent label never has to consider signing away their rights just to access the tools they need to compete.”
“The long-term vision for Beat Switch is to become the definitive services partner for the independent music ecosystem.”
James Sutcliffe
Commenting more broadly on the independent sector, Sutcliffe said: “The reality is that most independent labels are expected to compete with major label machinery while running on a fraction of the resources. They’re juggling distribution, royalty accounting, rights registration, publishing admin, sync, promo all with tiny teams and fragmented systems that don’t talk to each other. That means money gets left on the table. Rights go unregistered. Royalties leak.”
He claimed that “Beat Switch solves that by giving independent labels access to a fully integrated, white-label infrastructure — the same calibre of partnerships, tools, and expertise that the majors take for granted — while they retain complete control of their brand and, critically, their IP.”
Added Sutcliffe: “What excites me most is the levelling of the playing field. We’re not asking labels to hand over their identity or their masters to access world-class services. They keep their brand, keep their rights, and get a dedicated team working in their time zone with the same passion for their catalogue as they do. The response from the independent community has been incredible. We’ve already built an organic client base of more than 20 labels, purely on the strength of the offering. Formalising this as Beat Switch is the next step, and I think the industry is ready for it.”
“Because IP is the single most valuable asset in music, and too many artists and labels have historically given it away in exchange for services they could have accessed independently. At The Circuit Group, everything we do is built around an IP-first philosophy. We believe that artists and labels should own and control their creative output and participate fully in its long-term value. When creators retain their rights, they build real equity. They have leverage. They have something of lasting value that appreciates over time. Beat Switch exists to give them the infrastructure to do exactly that without compromising ownership.”
Music Business Worldwide