Altavoz History

The Altavoz Story

Who we are, what we do, what we stand for… Just a few things we thought you should know about us.

February 9, 2012

Bill Daly first came up with the idea while dealing with the onslought of new bands seeking retail placement of their music in the early 90's down Raleight NC way, A group of indie music lovers lead by Mary Liles launched Altavoz in 1994. The name came about as they gathered around Mary's kitchen table trying to come up with a name that started with an A.

Soon Nelson Jacobsen bought the company and moved it to the Rockville , MD. He promptly launched a presense on Doug Humpries piornering site Digex in 1994. By May of 1995 he had Altavoz.com up and running as one of the 1st 50 thousand full domains in the WORLD.

In late 1999, Altavoz was distributing some pretty cool indie artists and had launched its own prototype online broadcasting station in a co-marketing agreement with Microsoft and Ibeam for the launch of WindowsMedia.com .By the time of the dot com crash, the Altavoz broadband streaming station had 78 thousand people streaming music each day, and Altavoz.com was getting 1.2 million hits a day moving 40 million megs of data.

Today, The current owners, husband and wife team Nelson Jacobsen and Jess Sarmiento, have Altavoz refocused and re-energized with a fresh outlook and expanded strategy. We go beyond the traditional distribution service offerings, merging them with out-of-the box solutions that increase visibility and promise to deliver impressive results. We’re a passionate bunch; we take risks and thrive on creativity. We can be nimble and flexible because we aren’t under the thumb of a major corporation.

The entire Altavoz staff spends each day focusing on what we do best: leveraging decades of expertise and relationships to ensure placement AND purchase of your product in any and all retail environments. The mantra “Buy Indie, Support Local” guides our retail strategy. We understand the important role retailers have in their community and the value customers and fans put on the discovery of new music at the local record shop. At the same time, we want our products to be in every place the fan demands it — so we leverage the physical placement of product with placement in digital and other platforms/channels, and ensure they reinforce each other, making it easier for artists to make their mark and earn a living.

We don’t make a move without thinking about how our actions affect our suppliers and partners — and how we can make a positive impact. We connect artists and entertainment content producers with social causes, so when you do business with us, you are supporting good works in local communities and around the world. Our social change arm – Help Earth Foundation – directs our charitable giving. It might seem sappy, but we really do believe that collectively little things can make a big difference. And most of all, we believe that people with passion can help change the world.

Join us. We are the solid, reliable, long-term partner for retailers and suppliers.