Member Feature : FiXT

FiXT is an independent, artist-owned record label, music publisher and merchandise company, serving a roster of diverse and forward-thinking artists from across the globe. The company was founded in 2006 by Klayton (Celldweller, Scandroid) and James Rhodes. 

Since its inception, FiXT has represented more than 100 artists and writers from dozens of countries. The current roster includes Celldweller, The Browning, Daedric, The Anix, Beyond Unbroken, Fight The Fade, CANTERVICE, Fury Weekend, HIGHSOCIETY, Scandroid, Coping Method, Void Chapter, Young Medicine and more.The team at FiXT focuses on building lifelong fan relationships globally, growing their artists’s monthly listeners from zero to hundreds of thousands. Their catalogue has garnered over 3 billion online streams connecting with a core audience of gamers and sci-fi / cyberpunk fans. FiXT serves millions of listeners from over 150 countries each month, with new releases every week. 

With a hybrid of metal, EDM, synthwave, and alternative/rock, FiXT’s catalog has received over 1,000 Film/TV/Video Game and advertising sync placements, including: Westworld, Power Rangers, Lexus, Toyota, Suicide Squad, Iron Man, Robocop, Jack Reacher, Deadpool, John Wick, Guardians of the Galaxy, Pacific Rim, Call of Duty, Synth Riders, Assassin’s Creed, Need For Speed, Razer, Dead Rising, UFC, and more.

FiXT’s guiding principles were developed through owner and founder Klayton’s experiences as an artist and his personal experiences with record labels. Lopsided income splits, overly strict creative input, and poor communication from record labels proved to be more harmful than helpful to Klayton’s career. His response was to strike out on his own and handle the duties of a label himself. 

That independent mindset was solidified by co-founder James Rhodes, a fan of Klayton’s projects who had a strong work ethic and a method of music promotion that allowed artists to reach their full potential without compromising their creative vision. From Klayton and James’ partnership in the early 2000s came FiXT, a label dedicated to offering its artists a true creative partnership and an opportunity to turn their passion into a sustainable career. 

FiXT’s mission is to empower artists to build sustainable careers in ways not previously possible to them, surrounding them with a world class team, providing industry-leading label services, and fostering lifelong fan relationships with a global audience. Part of building a sustainable career has been the strategic anchor of building long-term artist relationships, built not only around masters, but coupled with publishing to make our catalogue a one-stop-shop for sync placements. Along with their master and publishing catalogue, FiXT has built out a full-service merchandise division of the company, providing artists with industry competitive services across design, manufacturing, e-commerce, fulfilment, and customer service. 

“Joining the FiXT team in 2022, it was an exceptional honor to work directly with one of my initial mentors in the music industry, James Rhodes. Equally valuable is FiXT’s association with Merlin, which has not only offered us continued opportunities to collaborate with new DSPs partners and share our music and artists globally, but has also given us the chance to participate in the Merlin Engage mentorship program. Being part of the inaugural class of the Merlin Engage program has not only benefited me but has also helped FiXT establish new relationships in the music industry and allowed us to learn from some of our wiser and more experienced peers in the space.” – Heather Johnson (FiXT Director, Label Operations)

Founded on Klayton’s early career as a struggling artist, FiXT understands the challenges of being an independent artist. From navigating label’s that don’t treat artist’s fairly – waiting weeks or months for a response, if you get one at all, not getting statements or payments, or only getting a dismal 15%, 18% or 20% of the profits, the FiXT team has seen it from the artist’s perspective and strives to do things differently and better.

“FiXT is delighted to be a Merlin Member.  Together with the Merlin team we’re able to elevate our artists to new heights by forging meaningful connections in the industry and continuing to push to make sure the independent artists are getting the best deal possible.  We would not have been able to grow as quickly as we have without a partner like Merlin.” – Kurtis Redden (FiXT Director, Sales & Marketing Operations)

Some of the unique things FiXT offers to it’s roster artist to address the shortcomings of the industry and working with remote teams, include: a “Label + Artist” Discord Server providing artists with 40+ hours/week of real-time access to the label staff, monthly educational webinars hosted by either FiXT staff or guest presenters, monthly listening sessions and artist huddles to foster interaction between staff and artists, and monthly ‘FiXT Family’ newsletters to staff & artists, and more.

FiXT has been a Merlin member since 2015. Prior to joining Merlin, FiXT’s digital distribution was preceded by early days at CD Baby, where Celldweller was one of CD Baby’s Top 25 grossing artists, followed by a few years with San Francisco-based indie distributor, IRIS Distribution. When IRIS was acquired by The Orchard, FiXT felt the independent spirit had changed in the direction and relationship, which ultimately led to FiXT becoming Merlin members. FiXT utilises FUGA as the platform solution for delivering the label’s releases to DSPs.

“FiXT is incredibly proud to be a Merlin Member. Since taking our digital business into our own hands, we’ve seen our business explode and bring exponentially more value to our artists. We’re able to offer Merlin’s best in class deals to our artists while operating sustainably. Merlin has been a game changer for us.” – James Rhodes (FiXT Vice President & Co-Founder)

As FiXT heads into 2024 and looks ahead at the coming few years, they are doubling down on quality over quantity. In an effort to bring maximum impact to a core group of artists, they are dialling in their roster to be more exclusive than ever. They’re also bringing more clarity to their focus on the Alternative / Rock / Metal genres – with an emphasis on unique artists combining electronic elements in their sound to really push genre-boundaries and stand out from the sea of noise.