Ghostly International moves to Tech Brewery, inks new deals

Wednesday, March 2, 2011 | Source: Concentrate

Ghostly International is moving on up to Ann Arbor's north side, taking space in the Tech Brewery, the business incubator that houses some of the area's most promising technology start-ups.

The electronic and ambient music label and long-time Ann Arbor staple is moving four of its employees and a handful of interns into one of Tech Brewery's suites. The building is a combination of office suites of various sizes and a large co-working space where new entrepreneurs work shoulder to shoulder with the likes of Duo Security co-founders Dug Song and John Oberheide.

"We have always felt we are a technology company," says Jeremy Peters, director of creative licensing & business affairs for Ghostly International. "We felt this is a good community to be around for the label."

Ghostly International has grown to seven employees in total after hiring one person over the last year. Three of those employees are based in New York City and the company works with a number of independent contractors across the U.S.

The label got its start in Sam Valenti IV's University of Michigan dorm room in 1999, and has established itself as an internationally recognized techno brand since. A number of deals and a few changes to the way it does business spurred its recent growth. For instance, it recently adopted Zingerman's open business model that shares financial and decision-making responsibilities with its employees. It also recently inked deals with Vagrant Records (a bigger music label) and licensed music to Lincoln for a commercial.

Source: Jeremy Peters, director of creative licensing & business affairs for Ghostly International
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.