ABOUT
With a legacy rooted in twenty years of helping independent artists build and maintain their own careers, Independent Distribution Collective is one of the Bay Area’s most trusted partners for music marketing, distribution, and event production.
Steffen Franz and his team at IDC execute a wide range of events and projects while creating consistent, paid opportunities for independent artists. IDC has implemented successful marketing campaigns for a diverse array of music releases, and produced thousands of live concerts and events in the San Francisco Bay Area.
IDC Promo
IDC maintains long-standing business relationships with an assortment of retailers, publicists, radio promoters, social media experts, graphic designers, videographers and editors, and various other industry professionals that could be assembled for an IDC Promo campaign.
IDC encourages PR and social media marketing as a standard part of any campaign effort, along with digital distribution and often physical distribution (CDs still have value and greatly assist with marketing of a release). Other components IDC might include could be radio, streaming playlist promotion, music video marketing, virtual event performances, and more depending on the project.
These efforts are all scalable, and at the very least include music distribution, development of bio and press release text, and digital delivery of a press release to hundreds of targeted media outlets worldwide to increase SEO and generate initial interest in the release.
Pricing is customized to every campaign and depends on the size of the IDC team, the number of months contracted, and the scope of the overall project. IDC Promo is built to be a flexible service, and every campaign is specifically customized to each project.
IDC Promo campaigns can be targeted around music releases (single, EP, and full-length), as well as other products and general brand building.
Please feel free to send us any information about your project or releases via our IDC REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) FORM.
IDC Events
From calling shows for corporate and nonprofit clients at Chase Center and Levi’s Stadium, to planning and producing music and cultural events attended by thousands of people around the Bay Area, Steffen Franz and his team at IDC execute a wide range of events and projects while creating consistent, paid opportunities for independent artists. Over the last six years IDC has partnered with Illuminate the Arts (illuminate.org) to bring free live music to the city, and last year alone produced close to 500 performances and events across multiple concert series.
“IDC has been a game changer for San Francisco. From the start, it was our intention to restore San Francisco’s live music swagger—five years and thousands of free concerts later, the city feels reconnected to live music in a way that continues to grow. My collaboration with Steffen Franz has been transformational, and together we’ve helped shape a new cultural heartbeat for San Francisco.”
-Ben Davis, Illuminate the Arts Founder and Executive Director
With the support of the SF Recreation and Parks Department, Illuminate and IDC have produced concert series at multiple venues, including two in Golden Gate Park: the Golden Gate Park Bandshell and The Whale’s Tail along theJFK Promenade; the Civic Center Soundtrack Series at Fulton Plaza; and the Sounds of the Street Series at India Basin Waterfront Park. Together they have been central to the production of many cultural moments in San Francisco, including all entertainment and live production for the last three years of WELCOME (aka The Lasers on Market Street)during SF Pride; the relaunch event for The Bay Lights in March 2026; and the opening launch events for Naga, the sea serpent in Rainbow Falls along JFK Promenade.
IDC also recently began producing Live on The Avenue with the town of San Anselmo, CA, a concert series that runs 55 shows across two stages from June through September!
Steffen Franz has decades of experience producing large-scale events, bringing his technical prowess and management skills to many national and local brands and non-profit organizations including SONY (SIE); UCSF; Monterey Bay Aquarium; Google; Facebook/Meta; Prometheus; Asana; Figma; Hitachi; City of Hope; and GAP Corporate Summit. Franz also co-produces the annual conference for Women in Product, a major female-focused nonprofit organization, and has been technical director for all AfroTech Executive events.
Steffen has been in the music business in some shape or form since he was 17 years old. Growing up in Manhattan, he started his live production career at the now legendary CBGBs and worked at many of NYC's major clubs including Danceteria, Limelight, The World, and Red Zone. He designed various lighting and sound installations, DJ'd, and even built and ran a few clubs in and around New York City in the 1980s.
Founding Positive Sound Massive Recordings (PSM), a 100% conscious reggae record label, in the 1990's. PSM released over 20 albums, and Steffen has produced over 25 albums for other artists/labels as well. He has a catalog of hundreds of songs and instrumentals, many of which have been placed in TV shows, movies, and video games. On top of all that, it's clear that his heart is in San Francisco's parks. He has served as Chair of PROSAC (Park, Recreation, and Open Space Advisory Committee) and he's currently President of Friends of Lafayette Park Board.
Steffen knows the music industry inside and out. He expertly, authentically, and respectfully works with everyone, from musicians and technicians to managers, performers, politicians, park rangers, and police. He is detail-oriented while mindful of the big picture, always tying his decisions to a larger vision. He makes smart choices and is cool under pressure, naturally blending talent, sharing opportunities, and building relationships.
For more information about IDC Events please email info@independentdistro.com or call (415) 292-7007.
IDC's Mission Statement
Independent Distribution Collective is a type of music company that has never existed outside of the major label system. The only way for independent labels and artists to flourish is to use all tools available in order to compete on the same playing field as other larger and more powerful players. IDC's unique structure and business model provides these tools and teaches independent labels and artists how to best utilize them to further their careers.
IDC is a one-stop shop to build a successful independent career, enabling a new generation of music products to reach a worldwide audience.
Management & Operations
Steffen Franz, President and Founder - standout@independentdistro.com
Ben Lang, Director of Operations and A&R - ben@independentdistro.com
Jerome Forney, Director of Digital Operations & Marketing – jerome@independentdistro.com
Advisory Board
Kurt Kunselman, aka Kurt Andrew MBA, IDC Business Development - kurt@independentdistro.com
Melissa Baker, The Queen
IDC Team
Kevin North, Additional Booking and Show Management
Evan Wardell, Show Management
Tyler Ross, Show Management
King I-Vier, Manager of Reggae A&R - kingivier@gmail.com
Keri Murphy, Digital Communications
Chad Augur, Artikulates Platform - Web Development and Design
IDC Disclaimer
IDC and their personnel expressly disclaim any liability for damages, direct or consequential, arising out of or related to any information provided in writing, orally or otherwise regarding any transaction with IDC. The recipient expressly understands and agrees that any estimates, projections and assumptions are, by definition, uncertain. Any party considering a transaction with IDC agrees to look solely to its own due diligence and any representations, warranties and/or covenants set forth in a fully-executed, definitive written agreement with IDC relative to the transaction.
Parties are presumed to be familiar with the recording industry in general, and accordingly, are advised to determine their own interest in the transaction based on its own investigations. Upon request, IDC will make available reasonable additional information or data necessary to verify the accuracy of the information provided, to the extent it possesses such information or can acquire it without unreasonable expense or effort.