American Record Company · ARC Media

Music built this company.
Now we're rebuilding music's home.

Thirty years inside independent music — on stage, behind the board, and running labels — taught us one thing: the people who make the work should own the upside.

Open PENNY 33 1/3 Store

The Vision

The future home for musicians, artists, labels, and podcasters.

Fair, direct payments — every stream, every record, every shirt. No middlemen. No ads. No algorithms.

You make the work. Your audience pays you for it. We keep the lights on — and stay out of the way.

The Story

Michael Vitali — three decades in independent music

  1. New York City

    Born a musician

    NYC-born. Music wasn't a phase — it was the operating system from the start.

  2. Boston · 1990–1997

    Courier by day, Berklee by night — and Ajna Chakra

    Seven years riding as a courier through Boston streets while studying audio engineering at Berklee College of Music. Formed Ajna Chakra and kept it active through the entire run — a band that refused to die, resurfacing with a 2022 resurgence.

  3. New York · 2000

    GreatDayForUp

    Back home in New York, formed GreatDayForUp — heavier, louder, and built for the road.

  4. 2007

    Ironweed — SXSW, MTV, CBS, Small Stone Records

    Formed Ironweed: multiple SXSW performances, music featured on MTV and CBS, records released on Detroit's storied Small Stone Records.

  5. 2011–2020

    Magnetic Eye Records

    Founded Magnetic Eye Records in 2011 to press Ironweed to vinyl — then ran it for nearly a decade, learning every inch of the label business: pressing plants, distribution, royalties, and exactly where the money leaks away from artists.

  6. Now

    American Record Company · PENNY · 33 1/3

    Every mile of that road — the courier runs, the van tours, the label ledgers — led here. ARC Media is building the future home for musicians, artists, labels, and podcasters: fair direct payments, no middlemen, no ads, no algorithms. Just the work, and the people it's for.

The Ecosystem

Streaming

PENNY

Sovereign, creator-first streaming. Every play pays the artist directly — a transparent per-stream ledger, settled to the creator's wallet. No ads. No algorithm deciding who eats.

Open PENNY →

Physical · Merch

33 1/3 Store

Vinyl, CDs, cassettes, and merch — sold by the artists themselves. Creators run their own shops and keep 92% of every sale. ARC is the landlord, not the gatekeeper.

Visit the Store →
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"We didn't study the music business from a boardroom. We lived it from the van. That's why PENNY exists."

— Michael Vitali, Founder