BigPond tunes into indie music

The distributor, AmpedMusic.com.au, is the exclusive Australian and New Zealand vendor for US music company "The Orchard" that is claimed to be the largest non-major label music distributor in the world.

The site features music acts from over 50 countries. Telstra said in a release it "will now be able to offer customers an extensive, diverse range of music catering to all tastes".

BidPond managing director, Justin Milne, said the deal is "fantastic news" for both music lovers and independent local artists.

"As The Orchard adds more labels and artists to its library we will continue to increase the number of tracks available on BigPondMusic.com," Milne said.

AmpedMusic.com.au managing director, Gary Mackenzie, said the relationship creates a good opportunity for local acts to market their music in Australia.

"The Orchard is growing at a rapid rate and now represents over 3,000 Independent labels across all genres including thousands of artists such as Coldplay, Killing Heidi, Savage Garden, Green Day, The Donnas and Placebo to name a few," Mackenzie said.

Telstra stated in its release that music from International labels such as Lookout, Sonic 360, Cleopatra, French Kiss and Fierce Panda -- who are claimed to have exclusive rights to Coldplay's debut single 'Brothers & Sisters' -- will now be available thanks to the agreement.