SECRETLY GROUP ACQUIRES 50% STAKE IN MERGE RECORDS

In something of a passing-of-the-torch moment between two of the most venerable indie labels in the U.S., Bloomington, Indiana-headquartered Secretly Group is acquiring a 50% stake in Merge Records, founded in 1989 by Superchunk principals Mac McCaughan and Laura Ballance in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

McCaughan will remain as Merge's label president and head of A&R, while Ballance, who stopped touring with Superchunk in 2013 but still records with the group, will step away from the music business. Label Director Christina Rentz, Marketing Director Jamie Beck and Head of Digital Wilson Fuller will all stay on board.

While continuing to operate as a stand-alone label from Durham, North Carolina, Merge will take advantage of Secretly Group back-office functions.

Superchunk's 14th album, Songs in the Key of Yikes, will be the first project released as part of the new arrangement. It will be distributed by Secretly Distribution worldwide upon its 8/22 arrival. Merge has used Secretly for international distribution since 2012.

A leading light of the American independent music scene whose colorful history was chronicled in the 2009 book Our Noise, Merge has been home to Arcade Fire, Spoon, Neutral Milk Hotel, The Magnetic Fields, The Clean, Waxahatchee, Destroyer, Archers of Loaf, Bob Mould, Caribou, Lambchop and Fruit Bats.

Merge's Mac McCaughan and Christina Rentz (Colette Arrand)

“We continue to be inspired and amazed by the musicians we work with,” said McCaughan. “I have known many of the people in the Secretly world for decades, and I know that they share Merge’s dedication to artists and getting their music into the hands of as many people as possible."

“We looked up to Merge as we started our labels," added Phil Waldorf, whose Dead Oceans is under the Secretly Group umbrella with Secretly Canadian, Jagjaguwar, Ghostly International and reissue specialists Numero Group. "We are not just fans of the music they’ve released but of their independent ethos and commitment to being an artist-first company. Becoming a partner in Merge is beyond a dream for me."

North Dakota-reared brothers Chris and Ben Swanson launched Secretly Canadian from a dorm room on the Indiana University campus with two since-departed partners in 1996. Secretly Group's overall roster now includes Bon Iver, Japanese Breakfast, Phoebe Bridgers, Khruangbin, Mitski, Sharon Van Etten and Angel Olsen.