Independent singer-songwriter Kina Grannis has entered into a worldwide partnership with One Haven Music with whom she will release a new version of her debut album Stairwells. The deal encompasses both a record deal with One Haven Music Records, distributed by The Orchard, and a publishing deal with One Haven Music Publishing, a joint venture with BMG Rights Management.
“[One Haven has] great resources, which will allow me to step back from the business side a bit and concentrate more on making music and videos and communicating with all of you,” said Grannis of the deal via an email to her street team earlier this month.
Stairwells was indie-released in February 2010 and has sold more than 10,000 copies without physical distribution. The album debuted on Billboard’s Top 200 and #5 on iTunes’ Pop Chart.
Stairwells’ newest incarnation will include new music and new mixes in addition to fan-favorites like “Valentine,” whose original video has amassed over 4-million YouTube views, and “Message From Your Heart,” whose demo earned Kina notoriety when it won Doritos’ Crash The Super Bowl contest and had its video air during the Super Bowl in front of its 97-million viewers.
The record deal marks a big step for Grannis, who has, in addition to Stairwells, self-released three EPs, and has been a prime example of the importance and impact of self-promotion and social networking.
Her expertly maintained relationship with her loyal community of followers — the most devoted of which call themselves Kinerds — was sparked by the reach of the Doritos contest and has continued to be fueled by Grannis’ regular YouTube postings. Her videos have eclipsed 50-million views to date and her channel has nearly 230K subscribers.
Kina spent much of 2010 touring North America in support of Stairwells, which included sold out shows at Los Angeles’ Troubadour and New York City’s Highline Ballroom, a stop on the Lillith Fair, and her national TV debut on CBS’ The Early Show.
Kina’s final tour date of 2010 will be a headlining show at Los Angeles’ El Rey Theatre on December 10.
Visit KinaGrannis.com for more information about the indie artist. Check out the video for “Valentine below.