E1 Entertainment

E1 Entertainment
Formerly	Koch Entertainment
Company type	Subsidiary
Traded as	LSE: ETO
Industry	Entertainment
Founded	1987 (as Koch Entertainment)
Founder	Michael Koch
Headquarters	Port Washington, New York, U.S.
Products	Music; Film distribution; Television
Parent	Hasbro Entertainment & Licensing; (Hasbro)
Divisions	E1 Music; E1 Entertainment Distribution; E1 Entertainment Canada; E1 Music Publishing; E1 Entertainment U.S.; E1 Films; E1 Television
Website	www.e1ent.com

E1 Entertainment LP (formerly Koch Entertainment and now also known as Entertainment One (eOne)^[1]) is a music, television and film producer & distributor with offices in New York, Nashville, Hilversum (the Netherlands)^[2], Montreal, and Toronto. It is the largest independent music, television and film distributor in North America, and is distributed by the Universal Music Group in Europe under the name E1 Universal. For over twenty years the company operated under the name "Koch Entertainment", and was renamed E1 Entertainment on January 22, 2009.^[3]

Distributed labels

E1 distributes over 300 independent music and video/film labels, including:

History

The company began in 1975 as Koch International. Founded by Franz Koch, Koch International was an independent Austrian record label and music distribution company that specialized in German and classical music recordings.^[4] For over 20 years, the company operated under the name Koch Entertainment, a music, film, and television distribution company that was started in 1987 by Franz's son Michael. As of January 2009, Koch has been rebranded under the name E1 Entertainment.

By 1991, Koch had become one of the first national independent distributors of domestic labels in the U.S. by offering an alternative to the traditional system of regional independent distribution or national major label distribution.^[5] In 1992, Koch was ranked #315 on Inc. Magazine’s list of America’s 500 fastest-growing private companies, and has since grown into an entertainment conglomerate.^[6] Today, it is generally regarded as the largest independent music, film and video retail distributor in North America,^[7] and currently holds the second highest market share of any independent in the U.S.^[8] Billboard Magazine and CNN cited Koch as the #1 Independent Distributor and Record Label in North America, and Entrepreneur Magazine praised Koch as “a multimedia force to be reckoned with." ^[5] Koch has consecutively received the nomination for Distributor of the Year from 2001-2007 by the National Association of Recording Merchandisers (NARM).^[9]

Koch expanded into the Canadian market in 1995 by forming the Toronto-based Koch Entertainment Canada. It was announced in 2005 that Koch was acquired by Canadian company Entertainment One (formerly Row Entertainment)^[10] for a purchase price of approximately $80 million.^[11] Since then, both Entertainment One and Koch have been sold to the London based firm Marwyn Investment Management LLP for a purchase price of $188 million dollars.^[12] As a result of this acquisition, the company is now publicly traded on the Alternative Investments Market. In May 2007, Koch also acquired Navarre Entertainment Media, further adding to its roster of distributed labels.^[13] According to industry press releases, with Koch's 2006 net sales of $130 million and Navarre's 2006 net sales of $60 million, the merger places their combined annual revenue at $190 million, giving Koch second place in independent music distribution market share (behind only the Alternative Distribution Alliance owned by the Warner Music Group).^[14]

In 2004, Koch held the top 3 positions on Billboard's Top Independent Albums chart in May of that year, a status that only a few independent companies have been able to achieve. For seven consecutive years (from 2000–2007),^[15] Koch has been cited by Billboard as the independent distributor of the year.^[7] In addition, Koch launched a New Media division in 2005 as part of its plan to enter the digital distribution market. Koch has since become an industry leader in digital distribution, with revenue from download, mobile and ringtone sales eclipsing more than $150 million dollars in 2007.^[16]

Koch's other subsidiaries include its theatrical-DVD label Koch Lorber Films, its television programming and home video company Koch Vision, its publishing administration system Koch Publishing, its retail distribution arm Koch Distribution, and Koch Entertainment Canada. Its primary subsidiary, Koch Records, was formed in 1999 and is now the largest independent record label in the United States^[7]. A number of artists on or distributed by Koch were formerly signed to major labels.