Ghazi launches Supply Chain for independent music rights

Supply Chain launched in beta in 2025 and now operates globally from its international headquarters in Amsterdam, according to the company. Ghazi, founder of the indie label and distribution company Empire, introduced it as an independent B2B (business-to-business) cloud-based (internet-delivered) distribution platform for the global music industry.

Supply Chain’s launch bundles four functions under one company:

• Technology: the software layer.
• Distribution: the route for releasing music.
• Operations: the administrative work around releases.
• Commercial connectivity: the links needed to transact.

In Supply Chain’s model, those functions sit within one service. Rights management—the administration of contracts, royalties and revenue splits—sits at the center of the proposition.

Supply Chain appointed Craig May as senior vice president (SVP) of marketing and Kristy May as SVP of business affairs. Its international headquarters are in Amsterdam, which the announcement describes as one of Europe’s most-connected music and technology hubs. The company’s stated goal is to build the infrastructure that independent music runs on.

The launch announcement sets out its mission:

“Its mission is to deliver the technology, expertise and commercial access needed to operate, grow and compete globally, in service of a broader vision of a world where independent music has the power to shape its own future,” the announcement reads.

“The platform gives independent music businesses neutral, enterprise-grade infrastructure without requiring them to give up control of their catalog, data, client relationships or commercial choices.”

Supply Chain calls the system neutral, meaning it is not tied to one commercial party, and enterprise-grade, meaning it is suitable for large organizations. It says businesses can gain that infrastructure while retaining control of their catalog—the body of recorded music—data, client relationships and commercial choices.

Ghazi makes cultural specificity a product requirement, not a service variation. His explanation to Variety sets the scale:

“There needs to be a fully fleshed-out rights management system that is also culturally nuanced,” Ghazi tells Variety.

“The needs of an independent label in Brazil are not the same as an artist in India, which are not the same as a private equity company that’s invested $500 million in catalogs. Supply Chain can manage contracts, master royalties, publishing royalties, merch royalties, split payments and more.”

The comparison places a Brazilian independent label, an Indian artist and a large catalog investor on one platform. Supply Chain’s stated design challenge is to serve them without assuming their contractual needs, scale or commercial relationships are alike.

The platform’s disclosed functions include:

• Contracts: agreements whose rights the system administers.
• Master royalties: payments tied to master recordings.
• Publishing royalties: payments tied to compositions.
• Merch royalties: payments tied to merchandise.
• Split payments: revenue divided among participating rights holders.

The scope reaches beyond distribution into contracts and revenue allocation. Ghazi’s examples make clear why one operational template cannot assume identical needs across markets.

Ghazi also puts the build itself at five years. He described the development this way:

“It’s been a labor of love for five years,” Ghazi said. “I wanted to build something as scale-able and as future-proof as possible.”

“It introduces a lot of operational efficiencies and reduces tech friction, and when you do all that, you’re allowing creativity to flourish. Our software is built for independents and it’s designed to connect and serve the independent community.”

His account links the five-year effort to scale, longevity, operational efficiency and service to independents. “Tech friction” here means the technical drag created when tools and workflows do not connect cleanly. Supply Chain’s announcement supplies no adoption, revenue or efficiency figures, so those benefits remain the company’s claims rather than measured results.

Supply Chain is working with a variety of clients across the industry ecosystem, including a launch partnership with Beatport-owned Ampsuite. According to the company, the partnership is intended to power infrastructure expansion.

Beatport CEO Matt Gralen said:

“Ampsuite offers the most complete set of tools for the labels that power Beatport, but we are always looking to provide more and respond to evolution in the industry. In Supply Chain, we have a partner that offers advanced features out of the box and the ability and ambition to build for the future of the business.”

Gralen’s endorsement positions Supply Chain as a technology partner for labels and software providers. Ampsuite contributes its existing toolset; Supply Chain brings advanced features and continuing development capacity. The announcement discloses no rollout schedule, pricing or customer numbers.

What does Supply Chain change for independent music businesses?

For an independent label, artist or catalog investor, the announced change is one platform for contracts, several royalty categories, split payments and control over commercial choices. Crucially, Supply Chain says users need not surrender their catalog, data, client relationships or commercial decisions to gain that infrastructure.

For software businesses, Supply Chain offers a potential infrastructure and feature partner. Ampsuite’s launch role gives the new company an initial route to labels served by Beatport, although neither side has published adoption, revenue or performance figures.

The practical test is not the breadth of the feature list but whether independent businesses can work across different markets without losing control or adding technical friction. As Ghazi’s Brazil, India and $500 million catalog-investor examples suggest, Supply Chain’s next test is whether cultural nuance holds as the company expands.