Recently-launched music company By Design, co-founded and led by music execs Josh Bailey, Jeremy Holley, Rod Riley and Josh Thompson, has partnered with BMG. The new partnership is set to include global distribution, label services, joint label signings and a co-investment strategy that will reach across catalog acquisitions through Archetype Music (a music rights holding company acquiring faith-based music rights).
By Design’s roster currently includes country singer-songwriter Frankie Ballard, as well as pop-folk singer-songwriter Zoe Levert and singer-songwriter Alex Jude. The label is also part of a larger company ecosystem, which includes Archetype Music, and nonprofit organization Blueprint, which aims to equip and empower faith-based creators.
“Faith-driven music has long been of particular interest to many members of the BMG team,” Jon Loba, President of Frontline Recordings, BMG Americas, said in a statement. “Even though we have not specifically engaged in that line of business, there has always been the desire and intention to do so. The opportunity to partner with By Design offered the perfect, complimentary alliance with exceptional, proven industry executives, who have the same heart and artist-first approach to music as BMG. We are so incredibly excited to join forces with Rod, Jeremy, both Josh’s and the entire By Design team, to enter a global genre that is one of the most powerful cultural forces rising today.”
“We partnered with BMG to scale purpose-driven music without compromising values,” Thompson said. “Their global reach empowers us to honor each artist’s original design – and share it on a global stage.”
“We believe the next global movement in music will be rooted in faith and community, not algorithms and trends,” Bailey added. “With BMG’s international infrastructure and our shared commitment to empowering artists, we’re building a new kind of platform, one that’s both spiritually grounded and globally scaled.”
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“By Design exists to champion the creators behind this movement, artists who carry purpose in their message and originality into a culture hungry for meaning,” Holley added.
By Design’s launch comes as the Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) genre has seen a surge. Earlier this year, two CCM songs made simultaneous appearances on Billboard’s all-genre Hot 100, marking the first time two CCM songs have reached that mark simultaneously in 11 years. Those songs were Forrest Frank’s “Your Way’s Better” and the Brandon Lake-Jelly Roll collaboration “Hard Fought Hallelujah.” Earlier this month, Phil Wickham also made his Hot 100 chart debut with the song “What An Awesome God.”
