KiTbetter Partners with ThinkIndie Distribution to Bring the KiTalbum Format to Independent Record Stores Nationwide
LOS ANGELES, CA, UNITED STATES, January 16, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- KiTbetter announces a new partnership with ThinkIndie Distribution, the long-running distribution company founded by the Coalition of Independent Music Stores. As of December 19, 2025, a curated selection of KiTalbums will hit shelves across ThinkIndie’s network, starting with multiple independent retailers in the United States.
For KiTbetter, this marks a defining step in the evolution of the KiTalbum as a format. The KiTalbum has always been built with the physical world in mind, designed to be held and interacted with. This collaboration reinforces that vision, bringing the hybrid format to the very places where music ownership carries weight.
ThinkIndie was created in 1999 with a mission that has never shifted. As a founding partner of Record Store Day, the company remains committed to fueling independent retail through special releases, exclusive editions, and unexpected finds that turn a great shop into a community.
As Scott Register, Head of A&R at ThinkIndie Distribution says, “Over my 30 years in indie retail, a few new configurations for physical music delivery have come along that, for one reason or another, didn’t take hold. We are hoping to change that with KiTalbums. These take the best of the physical and digital worlds and combine them in the perfect space. Add to it the KiTalbum’s ability to connect artist communities, and we think this could be a real home run. Much of the world already knows this. We hope North America will fall in love with it and get on board, too.”
Together, KiTbetter and ThinkIndie are creating space for a new kind of physical release inside an ecosystem built by and for independent artists, stores, and the fans who sustain them. The partnership underscores the importance of retail as a cultural touchstone. It continues KiTbetter’s work of building a format that helps artists reach audiences not just digitally, but through the tactile experience of holding music again.
This rollout is the newest addition to KiTbetter’s expanding distributor network and reflects a shared belief in the power of physical media to ground music in place and memory. As the KiTalbum grows, so does its ability to take on new shapes inside the real world, alongside vinyl and other beloved formats.
About KiTbetter
KiTbetter, a subsidiary of South Korean music tech company Muzlive, is reshaping the future of music ownership through the KiTalbum, a patented physical-digital format that gives fans something to hold and artists a more direct, profitable way to share their work. Each KiTalbum combines premium packaging and collectible artwork with digital access to high-fidelity audio and video, as well as exclusive fan experiences via the KiTplayer app. Since releasing the first connected album in 2014, KiTbetter has sold over 10 million albums worldwide and holds multiple patents on its proprietary technology. Trusted by major labels, independent artists, and music lovers around the world, KiTalbums bridge the gap between the convenience of streaming and the emotional connection of physical media, returning music to something lasting.
https://www.kitbetter.com/en
About ThinkIndie
ThinkIndie Distribution is a distribution company that was founded by the Coalition of Independent Music Stores in 1999. They are also a proud partner of Record Store Day (and have been from the very beginning). Their mission is the same one today as it was the day they started the company: to bring great special releases to independent music stores all over. They are working all day, every day to do their part to accomplish this mission as well as continue to connect great artists and great record shops with great releases. Their end goal is to keep bringing true music lovers to the stores that truly make a difference.
Besides sharing the avid fan’s passion and enthusiasm for music, ThinkIndie stores are equipped with a unique catalogue of exclusive releases, live shows, and limited-edition goodies from a variety of well-known artists – the kind of stuff that makes cool record stores even cooler.
http://www.thinkindie.com
For KiTbetter, this marks a defining step in the evolution of the KiTalbum as a format. The KiTalbum has always been built with the physical world in mind, designed to be held and interacted with. This collaboration reinforces that vision, bringing the hybrid format to the very places where music ownership carries weight.
ThinkIndie was created in 1999 with a mission that has never shifted. As a founding partner of Record Store Day, the company remains committed to fueling independent retail through special releases, exclusive editions, and unexpected finds that turn a great shop into a community.
As Scott Register, Head of A&R at ThinkIndie Distribution says, “Over my 30 years in indie retail, a few new configurations for physical music delivery have come along that, for one reason or another, didn’t take hold. We are hoping to change that with KiTalbums. These take the best of the physical and digital worlds and combine them in the perfect space. Add to it the KiTalbum’s ability to connect artist communities, and we think this could be a real home run. Much of the world already knows this. We hope North America will fall in love with it and get on board, too.”
Together, KiTbetter and ThinkIndie are creating space for a new kind of physical release inside an ecosystem built by and for independent artists, stores, and the fans who sustain them. The partnership underscores the importance of retail as a cultural touchstone. It continues KiTbetter’s work of building a format that helps artists reach audiences not just digitally, but through the tactile experience of holding music again.
This rollout is the newest addition to KiTbetter’s expanding distributor network and reflects a shared belief in the power of physical media to ground music in place and memory. As the KiTalbum grows, so does its ability to take on new shapes inside the real world, alongside vinyl and other beloved formats.
About KiTbetter
KiTbetter, a subsidiary of South Korean music tech company Muzlive, is reshaping the future of music ownership through the KiTalbum, a patented physical-digital format that gives fans something to hold and artists a more direct, profitable way to share their work. Each KiTalbum combines premium packaging and collectible artwork with digital access to high-fidelity audio and video, as well as exclusive fan experiences via the KiTplayer app. Since releasing the first connected album in 2014, KiTbetter has sold over 10 million albums worldwide and holds multiple patents on its proprietary technology. Trusted by major labels, independent artists, and music lovers around the world, KiTalbums bridge the gap between the convenience of streaming and the emotional connection of physical media, returning music to something lasting.
https://www.kitbetter.com/en
About ThinkIndie
ThinkIndie Distribution is a distribution company that was founded by the Coalition of Independent Music Stores in 1999. They are also a proud partner of Record Store Day (and have been from the very beginning). Their mission is the same one today as it was the day they started the company: to bring great special releases to independent music stores all over. They are working all day, every day to do their part to accomplish this mission as well as continue to connect great artists and great record shops with great releases. Their end goal is to keep bringing true music lovers to the stores that truly make a difference.
Besides sharing the avid fan’s passion and enthusiasm for music, ThinkIndie stores are equipped with a unique catalogue of exclusive releases, live shows, and limited-edition goodies from a variety of well-known artists – the kind of stuff that makes cool record stores even cooler.
http://www.thinkindie.com
Grace Slansky
KiTbetter
+1 310-460-9128
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