May 3rd 2023 – Leading full-service B2B distributor FUGA, a division of Downtown Music, has announced a new partnership with Filipino-owned independent label, PolyEast Records. The distributor also announced new hires in the region, including Jeffrey Joson and Jay Villasenor who will lead business development and operations respectively.

FUGA, which is the preferred platinum and plus supplier for Spotify and Apple, will be providing its extensive global digital distribution offering to PolyEast Records for all current and catalog artists on their impressive roster.

Home to successful Filipino acts such as Francis M, Joey Albert, Regine Velasquez, Bamboo, Sugarfree, Sandwich, Martin Nievera and TJ Monterde, PolyEast Records will also be utilizing FUGA’s award-nominated marketing services, including access to the distributor’s enhanced trends and analytics platform, which processes and analyzes almost 30 billion streams per month.

PolyEast Records has become synonymous with nurturing and championing independent artists who have garnered significant success in the OPM (Original Pilipino Music) industry. With its head office based in Metro Manila, PolyEast is led by Ramon Chuaying, Jesmon Chua and Sharon Dy-Law and boasts a multitude of arms, including talent management, events production and an extensive publishing division; as well as continuously exploring additional business partnerships.

The announcement lands ahead of new singles from breakthrough Filipino singer/songwriter and vlogger, Benedict Cua who rose to fame with his cover version of Justin Bieber’s ‘10,000 hrs’; receiving viral reception across YouTube and TikTok, and award-winning Filipino alternative rock band, Sandwich, who’s most notable work includes ‘Sugod’ and ‘Betamax’. Both will be released by PolyEast records later this year.

Ramon Chuaying, President of PolyEast Records has said, “PolyEast is happy to announce our partnership with FUGA, a well-known and established music aggregator worldwide. PolyEast, which has a strong all-genre catalog, has full confidence in FUGA being able to digitally distribute our content to all digital markets. We expect this partnership to be beneficial to both our companies and to grow even stronger in the coming years.”

Jesmon Chua, General Manager of PolyEast Records also comments, “The recently forged partnership with FUGA has opened the doors of the new future for PolyEast Records. We look forward to growing and making beautiful music together in the years to come.”

Sharon Dy-Law, Finance Director for PolyEast Records adds, “It’s true what they say that music brings people together. This partnership is proof of it.”

Alongside its new partnership with PolyEast Records, FUGA continues to expand its service offering in APAC by hiring Jeffrey Joson to lead all Business Development within the Philippines. Based in Manilla, Joson has almost 20 years of experience driving operations and revenue growth for various high-performing music companies and record labels including Sony Music, UMG, Believe and Tower Records. Since joining FUGA, the company has seen significant growth of its client base in the Philippines, which includes PolyEast Records.

Also joining Joson in Manilla is Jay Villasenor, FUGA’s Head of Operations for APAC where his responsibilities include overseeing all operations and client integrations for the region. Villasenor has over 10 years of operational experience with previous roles including Digital Operations Executive for Warner Music Philippines and Operations Manager for Ditto Music.

Dorothée Imhofff, CCO of FUGA has said, “The APAC region is a flourishing landscape of creators and partnering with key, forward-thinking labels such as PolyEast Records marks a significant next step in FUGA’s expansion within the region. With both Jeffrey and Jay’s presence in Manila, we look forward to connecting our partners in the Philippines further with audiences globally.”

Jeffrey Joson, FUGA’s Business Development Manager, Philippines comments, “The Philippines has always had a diverse and vibrant music ecosystem- something that Filipinos pride themselves in. PolyEast Records has greatly contributed to the independent music landscape for OPM artists in the region and It gives me great joy, together with FUGA, to be able to provide a better alternative of flexible music distribution and marketing services for our clients”