What is the
Merlin Network

Yes. limbo/ has been a member of Merlin since 2014. Merlin is the global digital licensing network for independent music companies, and membership gives limbo/ and its clients access to direct, competitive deals with the major DSPs while staying fully independent.

Merlin is a member-led digital licensing platform whose stated purpose is "ensuring the world's leading independents have access to the deals, tools, and opportunities to succeed in the digital marketplace." It represents 500+ independent members managing 30,000+ labels, and accounts for roughly 15% of the global recorded-music market, entirely outside the three majors.

"Merlin Music" usually refers to Merlin Network, the global digital licensing network for independent music companies. It is not a record label and it does not sign artists: it negotiates collective licensing deals with digital platforms on behalf of its independent members, so those members reach the same DSPs as the majors on competitive terms.

Neither. Merlin is a licensing network. It does not sign artists, release music or deliver catalog to stores. Its members do that: independent labels, distributors and music companies. Merlin negotiates the collective deals with 40+ digital platforms that those members then use. limbo/ is a distributor and a Merlin member since 2014, so partners get both the delivery pipeline and the network terms.

Through a Merlin member. Merlin licenses on behalf of its member companies, so an independent label typically reaches those terms by working with a member such as limbo/, rather than joining directly. Combined with limbo/'s own direct DSP contracts, that is how an independent catalog competes on major-label footing.

SOBO is the setup where a label or distributor keeps its own licensing and uses an outside provider only for the back office: delivery, reporting and quality control. Merlin members use it because they already hold the licensing they need. What they lack is the supply chain. With limbo/, releases ship under your own Merlin membership and your own direct DSP contracts; limbo/ handles DDEX delivery, per-DSP and per-territory controls, royalty reporting and quality control, and never becomes a party to your deals.

Yes, that is the normal setup. If you hold your own Merlin membership or direct DSP contracts, limbo/ runs as a delivery-only supply-chain layer underneath them. Your agreements stay in your name and your commercial terms never pass through limbo/. See limbo/SupplyChain for how the pipeline works.

Merlin members who want to keep their own licensing generally choose a supply-chain provider rather than another licensor. limbo/ is one of them: DDEX-native delivery on ERN 4.3 and 3.8.2, an API and native MCP server, independent royalty reporting, and Agent Quality Control before anything ships. limbo/ is founder-owned with no major label or private-equity ownership, and has been a Merlin member since 2014. The right comparison is which provider gives you the delivery controls, the reporting and the independence you need; we will scope that against your real catalog.

Yes. limbo/ co-founder and CEO Fer Isella served on the Merlin Network Board of Directors (2024-2025), helping steer the network that represents independent music worldwide.

It means your catalog reaches the major DSPs on collectively negotiated, competitive terms, the kind of scale usually reserved for major labels, without giving up your independence. Combined with limbo/'s own direct contracts, it is how an independent label or distributor competes on equal footing.