Pascal Bittard is the Founder and CEO of Paris, France-headquartered IDOL.
He formulated the idea for IDOL during his time at Sony Music France.
Bittard’s and IDOL’s clients include Ubisoft, the Ray Charles Foundation, and Last Night on Earth, among other labels and artists.
Pascal Bittard: Career History
Pascal Bittard started out in the music industry when he joined Sony Music France’s distribution team.
He would eventually become Head of the Independent Label Distribution division, giving him total responsibility over the logistics of smaller-scale distribution. This provided the framework that would eventually drive Bittard to found IDOL.
He worked for Sony Music France from 1994-2000.
In 2000, Bittard took the Head of Marketing position at V2 (Virgin 2) Music France. V2 was started by Richard Branson in partnership with Morgan Stanley after he sold Virgin Records to EMI. Morgan Stanley owned 95% of the company and it was run by nearly the same executive team. Bittard headed up marketing campaigns for the label’s French roster. He remained with V2 for 5 years.
In 2005, Bittard decided the best route forward would be setting up his own shop.
He founded Independent Distribution On Line (IDOL) with a focus on digital distribution via platforms including iTunes.
Since then, IDOL has expanded into a full artist and label services company, offering solutions for digital/social marketing, strategy, funding, audience development, playlisting, PR, physical distribution, and a tracking/monitoring system for artists.
The company continues to take pride in its independence, frequently commenting that being independent allows for unconventional and more efficient service provisions.Music Business Worldwide