TuneCore offers online music distribution without needless complexity. As mentioned by AIR’s Stu Watters in last week’s interview, its 2005 debut changed the dynamic of digital distribution considerably, by allowing independent musicians to sell their music using retails such as iTunes and AmazonMP3 in exchange for a flat fee, without ongoing sales percentage cuts. The service is used across the world, from Nine Inch Nails and Aretha Franklin to thousands of success stories-in-waiting.

In the wake of last week’s Universal Music Group partnership announcement - which will allow indie artists who distribute through TuneCore to purchase major label marketing muscle on a flat-fee basis - Andrew McMillen reached out to TuneCore’s co-founder and Senior Vice President of Operations, Peter Wells [pictured below left].

Andrew: I’ve seen (Tunecore CEO) Jeff Price discussing the Universal announcement, so my first question - what’s your take on the deal?

Peter: While Jeff’s been working his side of the internet, I’ve been working mine, posting on blogs, our forum, and helping out those with misconceptions about the partnership. So far, response has been overwhelmingly positive: seems most folks “get it” just fine.

Personally, I’m strongly artist-centric, so I zero in on just how this helps current and potential TuneCore customers. Remember, anyone using TuneCore for digital distribution will have a choice. No one has to use any of the Universal label portals we’re building. That choice works in the artist’s favor, because it will be up to the major to provide incentive. What will that incentive be? No idea, too early to tell, but it’ll have to be something, or they won’t tempt anyone in through their parlor door.

Jeff stated in the ARS Technica news article that the reason behind the deal is A&R - for Universal to find new acts. I’m supposing that they approached you, and not the other way around. To me, it reads like Universal admitted that their old methods of finding and signing acts were outdated, and they came to you for support. Am I on the right track?

To me, Universal demonstrated tremendous foresight, and this partnership reflects it. It’s not so much a comment on traditional A&R methods but a willingness to extend them into the new space. Universal gets another way to find emerging artists, artists get all the benefits of competition among the majors, as Universal offers incentives to entice artists. What Universal has done: for the first time ever, a major is entering into a relationship with content providers without requiring exclusivity, a percentage, control over masters, trademarks, copyright–that’s a huge step forward for Universal, and for the industry.

Nine Inch Nails are the oft-cited TuneCore success story, after they released Ghosts I-IV for “about $38” last year. But I’m sure that TuneCore has supported some other high-profile acts since then - can you share a few?

Well, let’s not forget Drake [pictured right], who holds the title of best-selling independent of ALL TIME, moving hundreds of thousands of units as a TuneCore customer. He promptly got signed to (coincidentally) Universal! I can only imagine how his PROVEN record of sales gave him an advantage in negotiating terms with the majors.

And now, just a short list of other success stories:

• Never Shout Never - approx 200,000 songs sold in 60 dys
• Secondhand Serenade - aprox 225,songs sold in 90 days
• Boyce Avenue - approx 400,00 songs in 7 months
• Jon Lajoie - 40,000 songs in 30 days
• Eric Hutchinson - 125,000 songs in 3 weeks (best selling “unsigned” band of all time on iTunes)
• The Boxer Rebellion - 250,000 songs in 45 days
• Ron Pope - 85,000 songs in three months
• Millionaires - 75,000 songs on 90 days
• The Medic Droid - 100,000 songs in 60 days
• Harry and the Potters - 150,000 songs in 6 months
• Jeffree Star - 150,000 songs in 6 months
• Josh Kelley (used to be on a major but was dropped, then used TuneCore) - 400,000 songs
• White Noise Loops for Sleep (literally, music to sleep to!) - 1,000 songs sold in Oct 2007
• Nickasaur - 30,000 songs in 3 months
• Classical New Age Piano Music - 5,000 songs in 4 weeks

I notice that you’re quite active on the TuneCore forums and across the web. What’s the strategy behind this?

Two main reasons:

• I love it! I love talking with our customers, with the world at large.
• TuneCore isn’t selling ice scrapers and sponges to anonymous customers. We distribute music, an artist’s love, passion, life and soul–even perhaps their livelihood. So long as I’m with this company, I insist on a personal connection. I will take the time to really go out there, listen, even help when someone needs it.

The real question might be, why isn’t EVERY company putting a co-founder out there in the internet “trenches,” facing the hard questions, offering personal help, putting their own email address on every blog posting for all to reach out to? I would love to work for a company that cared like that, so I’m determined to make TuneCore that kind of company.

Leading on from my last question about your willingness to interact with music fans and potential TuneCore customers online, I can see that you’ve adopted this ‘openness’ strategy from the company’s earliest days. It’s awesome that you’re so tuned into conversation about the company, and that you’re obviously passionate enough about TuneCore to pursue these conversations. You’re literally all over the ‘net - are the rest of the TuneCore dudes as tuned in as you are?

Absolutely. Our customer service team is constantly helping me out, showing me places on the net I might have missed, and twittering on their own. Jeff is just as quick to talk online, and just as voracious a reader. I do most of the talking, simply to keep a consistent voice. But we all agree here: the company that doesn’t listen to its customers will lose. We have no intention of losing.

What’s your history within the music and web industries?

I was a tech writer and editor at Cisco Systems for four years, and that will certainly give you your tech industry cred. I’m a trained classical pianist and organist, so I know the performance side of things. I joined eMusic in late 1999, where I did genre management, label relations and negotiated contracts with rights holders, so I picked up the business end running.

Finally, I have to say, I learned the real details of this business, its subtleties and complexities, from running TuneCore and from Jeff himself. He’s brilliant, knows every aspect of the music business from his successful label of 20 years, and it’s to him and our untold hours in conversation that I owe everything. Special mention to Gian Caterine, our CFO and another brilliant musician, finance guy and the Fourth Musketeer of TuneCore. He can teach you more about business in five minutes than you’d get out of a whole college course!