In the early 1990s, musician Billy Straus co-produced an eclectic album of new music based on the hit children's television series Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?.
This gave birth to the idea of bypassing the major distributors entirely, developing instead an alternate method of getting music of all genres in front of potential listeners by selling directly through non-music retailers.
[2] Teaming up with business partner Jeff Daniel in 1997, Rock River continued to produce branded CD compilations for Pottery Barn, with over 100 titles released in over a decade.
[4][5] With the rise of digital music delivery, Rock River negotiated innovative licensing deals for online promotions.
[6] According to the Wall Street Journal, Rock River "struck some of the first deals to license major-label content for podcasts.