This fall, for the first time in two years, dozens of founders and hundreds of executives from nearly 50 companies across the independent music community joined forces for Secretly Distribution's Label Summit 2026. Taking place in Secretly's Bloomington, Indiana headquarters, the two-day series began two decades ago as a group of folding chairs in an unfinished basement, growing into a clear-your-calender event for the most influential sectors of the music business to collectively steer the industry forward.

Coinciding with Secretly's 30th Anniversary in 2026, this year's Label Summit featured a program of panels discussing audience-building for developing artists and what's next for the music marketplace; workshops exploring business management and sustainability, optimizing metadata and successful marketing in Australia, Europe, the UK and global retail; presentations dedicated to the APAC marketplace and much more, embodying one of Secretly Distribution's forever core principles: independent record labels are stronger when they share knowledge and resources, together supporting groundbreaking artists and music.

In addition to international, domestic and digital teams at Secretly Distribution (SD) and leaders from Secretly affiliates Dead Oceans, drink sum wtr, Ghostly International, Jagjaguwar, Merge Records, Sacred Bones Records, Secretly Canadian and Numero Group, attendees represented SD label partners including Asthmatic Kitty, Bar/None, Colemine, DFA, Father/Daughter, Ipecac, Joyful Noise, K, Keeled Scales, Lame-O, Naya Beat, Oh Boy, Org, Psychic Hotline, Rhymesayers, Run For Cover, Third Man, Western Vinyl and many more, as well as Cargo Independent Distribution and Spotify, sponsors such as A To Z Media and Qobuz, record store owners and countless others.

"At our 2026 Label Summit, the global Secretly Distribution community of staff, labels and partners gathered in Bloomington, Indiana. We not only compared notes and shared ideas for better approaches in the marketplace, but we also shared many stories about the challenges we each face. Ultimately, our conversations, explicitly or implicitly, touched on the following questions: How much can we call our own shots? How much access do we have to the resources we need to create value in our work and our lives? And how can we operate in a way that enables agency and contributes to autonomy, not just for ourselves but for others, even our competitors?

"As music companies in an industry that is more concentrated than ever-where a few big players control so much-we all find ourselves working or living within systems we didn't choose or create. But, together in Bloomington, our conversations reminded us that achieving greater independence starts with sticking together and supporting one another, that partnership and self-reliance are not incompatible, rather they are more aligned and essential than ever."

- Darius Van Arman, CEO of Secretly Distribution

In addition to Van Arman, who gave the event's keynote, speakers included Craig Gogay (Cargo Independent Distribution Label Manager), Charley Kiefer (SD VP, Global Digital Strategy), Dan Drinkard (Dinked International / Seasick Records), Emily Williams (Rhymesayers), Jacqui Resur (SD VP, Client Relations), Jared Jones (Winspear), Jessica Von Herstenberg (SD Senior Manager, Digital Operations), Jody Whelan (Oh Boy Records), Kristian Downs (SD Executive Director, Platform & Digital Operations), Luke Younger (Cargo Independent Distribution Label Manager), Matt Bacon (Dropout Media / Sapphire Eye), Max Thomas (SD Marketing & Campaigns Manager, APAC), Morgan Schaffner (Psychic Hotline), Nathan Pilch (Rocket Distribution Label Manager), Rachel Glago (Secretly Group), Shelly Worcel (SD Director, Global Physical Account Strategy), Terry Cole (Colemine Records), Tom Davies (SD Director, Global Marketing), Vinnie Massimino (Dais Records) and more, and throughout the week, five major trends and takeaways emerged:

1. Metadata, optimizing it, and staying on top of market changes with accurate and up-to-date information remains crucial to ensure full monetization and opportunities for all releases.

2. The physical market varies widely around the world in terms of what types of artist participation and promotion move the needle with retail, but everyone loves signed records.

3. Success in the digital marketplace isn't one-size-fits-all, but being prepared with assets and plans for a new artist taking off or for a catalog artist going viral is crucial to success.

4. Big opportunities exist in the APAC market for labels and artists who are able to tour in the region and/or can customize campaigns to meet local market differences.

5. Spending time with inspiring colleagues and partners from around the world, discussing what's important and what's possible, is undeniably powerful.

Following this summer's milestone three-day concert series, What Comes After the Blues: Secretly 30 in Bloomington, Indiana, Secretly Distribution's Label Summit also arrived on the heels of Secretly Distribution and STVDIO's first quarterly report, Independent Music 2026: The Fight for Music's Infrastructure, diving deep into the forces reshaping independent music infrastructure across distribution, AI licensing and new emerging models, and outlining where indie infrastructure is at risk, but also, optimistically, where it can capitalize, defend and dominate. Read the report's full findings and conclusions HERE.

ABOUT SECRETLY DISTRIBUTION

For more than 25 years, Secretly Distribution (SD) has been enabling independents to challenge the mainstream. SD is not only a full-service global physical and digital music distributor, but it also provides hands-on marketing, financial and technological support to some of the most exciting record labels and artists across geographies and genres. By supporting businesses who are self-reliant by choice, not just necessity, SD champions the musicians and creative works that drive culture forward.

Among SD's partners are Rhymesayers, Touch & Go, DFA, Third Man Records, Ipecac Recordings, Moshi Moshi, Run For Cover, Big Crown, Colemine, Nyege Nyege Tapes, Jazz Is Dead, Ubiquity, Org Music, Oh Boy Records, Awesome Tapes From Africa, ZZK, Secretly-affiliated labels Dead Oceans, drink sum wtr, Ghostly International, Merge Records, Sacred Bones, Jagjaguwar, Secretly Canadian and the Numero Group - and so many more.

For more information, please contact Matt Hanks or Greg Jakubik at Shore Fire Media, 718-522-7171