The Brooklyn-based independent record label Ghostly International has joined Secretly. The label and its publishing arm Ghostly Songs (now administered through Secretly Publishing) join Bloomington, Indiana’s Secretly Group (Secretly Canadian, Jagjaguwar, and Dead Oceans) and Chicago’s Numero Group as Secretly affiliates. Ghostly International founder Sam Valenti IV is now a managing partner of Secretly, and Secretly Group owners Ben Swanson, Chris Swanson, Darius Van Arman, and Phil Waldorf are now partners in Ghostly International.
Ghostly International is home to artists such as Matthew Dear, Tycho, Galcher Lustwerk, and Mary Lattimore, while also making their mark in the merchandise and branding space. “It’s a very personal affair, music,” Valenti said in a statement. “It’s hopes and dreams and ambitions for artists. It’s their lives, and yours. Trust and intention are focal to even starting, let alone finding new partners. Since Secretly started distributing Ghostly International in 2013, it’s been a dream to work alongside an ethical and creative family of labels, not to mention our most productive phase as a label. It has given us the confidence to keep building.”
Ghostly will be “co-integrating” its marketing, production and other divisions, but Van Arman tells Billboard that there will be no layoffs. Ghostly currently retains 8 employees; Secretly employs 135.