On June 9, 2009 the prestigious Finnish classical recording label Ondine announced a change in ownership to Naxos International. Additionally, the label will be distributed in the U.S. and in Canada by Naxos of America beginning on July 1.
Ondine was founded 1985 by Reijo Kiilunen in Helsinki, where the Finnish classical label is still based and today offers an extremely eclectic catalogue of both Finnish contemporary music and recordings with major Finnish and international artists. “I’m extremely excited that Naxos was keen to become our owner,” said Reijo Kiilunen, Managing Director of Ondine. “Naxos shares our solid commitment to classical music. Ondine will benefit from its extensive and professional international organization and distribution network as well as its highly advanced digital business models. In addition, joining forces makes us the strongest classical player in the domestic Finnish market. All this made me realize, that from a number of interesting alternatives, Naxos was the best choice of owner in facing all the challenges within our business world.”
I’d be curious to know what the “highly advanced digital business models” entail other than licensing.
By the way, the end-user product that NAXOS is offering online is one of the worst I’ve seen.