Musicrama Acquired By AEC Vets Bianco, Narang

Joe Bianco and Anil Narang, the architects of Alliance Entertainment Corp., have resurfaced and acquired Musicrama, the Long Island City, N.Y.-based indie distributor.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but sources say it was funded mostly with equity raised from financial sponsors. The purchase was made by Bianco and Narang's new holding company, New York-based Redux Records. Bulletin estimates that Musicrama has annual sales of $25 million-$30 million.

The principals of Musicrama, brothers Charles and Mark Jarzabek, will stay with the company. Charles will step down as president but will continue to source product for Musicrama as VP. Mark assumes the title of president/COO. Narang will be Musicrama CEO, while Bianco serves as Redux Records chairman.

Mark Jarzabek says the deal will allow Musicrama to continue its growth. "We are looking for labels who want to take advantage of our relationships with retail," he says.

Musicrama's biggest label is DV, which is owned by best-selling DJ Louie DeVito. Musicrama also often acts as the U.S. distributor for international major-label product that is not issued through its own company in the States.

Bianco founded Alliance in 1990 when he bought Bassin Distributors and built it through a series of acquisitions orchestrated with the help of Narang. In August 1996, he merged Alliance with Al Teller's Red Ant Records. A year later, the company filed for Chapter 11, which eventually resulted in Bianco and Narang exiting the music industry.