Hal Leonard Signs Distribution Deal with ROLI, Maker of the Acclaimed Seaboard Instruments
MILWAUKEE (March 10, 2016) - Hal Leonard today announced a strategic partnership with ROLI, the London-based music creation startup and inventor of the multi-award-winning Seaboard instruments that will greatly expand the availability of ROLI's Seaboards at music retailers across the United States.
The agreement is ROLI's first direct distribution agreement in the US musical instruments channel. It follows ROLI's strategy of investing in its partner network. The distribution agreement will greatly benefit ROLI's US channel partners, resellers, and customers, as it creates efficiencies and improvements in back-end logistics, merchandising, and partner training.
ROLI's revolutionary products have electrified the market since the 2013 debut of the Seaboard GRAND. The GRAND remodeled the keyboard interface as a soft, pressure-sensitive surface that let musicians shape sound and make music through touch. In 2015 ROLI followed up with the Seaboard RISE, a MIDI controller that offers a similar touch-sensitive keyboard interface at a more accessible price point. The Seaboard RISE and GRAND have received universal critical acclaim. The RISE was named the most innovative computer-peripheral product of 2016 at CES as well as winning FutureMusic's Product of the Year and a raft of other awards. "The future of the keyboard has arrived," said MusicRadar.
Brad Smith, Senior Sales and Marketing Manager for Hal Leonard said, "Hal Leonard is excited to bring ROLI to our dealer network. We already distribute a lot of complementary products that make ROLI's products a good fit with our accounts. These instruments are so expressive that it will not only appeal to players who are looking for new sounds but also to musicians who will now create music that they never could create before the Seaboard. It's a very important landmark creation."
Head of ROLI Global Sales, Gregg Stein, added, "ROLI is delighted to be working directly with Hal Leonard, a company that is the best in its class in delivering products to the broader musical instrument and professional audio community. Hal Leonard brings the passion, reach and credibility to accelerate ROLI's rollout across the United States. Together, we will support our retail channel partners with the highest standards and extensive merchandising programs, partner training, and value added in-store services."
The distribution agreement will cover all ROLI products including the Seaboard GRAND Stage as well as the Seaboard RISE 25 and the brand-new Seaboard RISE 49, which commercially launched on February 26.
About ROLI
ROLI is a London-based technology company that is creating a more connected music ecosystem. The award-winning Seaboard RISE and Seaboard GRAND are redefining how expressive a musical instrument can be. NOISE, the free music-making app, turns the iPhone into a powerful handheld instrument. New dimensions of musical expression are opening through Equator, ROLI's groundbreaking sound engine. As the leading C++ framework for audio, JUCE is making music applications run faster in real time. And Blend.io is building a new community for music collaboration by letting artists share their projects on an open social platform. Through hardware, software, and social products, ROLI is making a new chain of tools for contemporary music creation.