Indie Music Leaders Organize Against UMG-Downtown Deal With New Campaign: ‘A Serious Threat’

Leaders crossed indie euphony are erstwhile again teaming up to talk retired against Universal Music Group’s projected acquisition of Downtown Music Holdings with a caller campaign.

Dubbed “100 Voices,” the run argues that the deal, which is presently the taxable of an probe by the European Commission, “poses a superior menace to competition, diverseness and just entree crossed the euphony industry,” according to a property release. Downtown operates organisation platforms FUGA and CD Baby, the royalty accounting work Curve and the indie publishing admin services supplier Songtrust, among others — each of which are heavy utilized by autarkic labels and artists.

The “100 Voices” work was delivered successful idiosyncratic connected Thursday (Oct. 2) to Valdis Dombrovskis, the European Commissioner for Economy and Productivity. Dombrovskis is starring the existent signifier of the probe into the projected deal, the results of which were primitively slated for merchandise successful December but are present acceptable to beryllium revealed sometime adjacent twelvemonth (the probe was halted past month due to the fact that documents were not submitted successful a timely manner, according to the Commission.

This isn’t the archetypal clip the indie euphony assemblage has rallied against the projected acquisition. As soon arsenic the woody was announced, autarkic companies and organizations including IMPALA, Beggars Group, IMPF, A2IM and Secretly Group began releasing statements asking regulators to artifact it. In July, much than 200 indie euphony execs from companies including Better Noise, Dead Oceans, Hopeless Records and Sub Pop published an unfastened letter urging the European Commission to participate a “Phase II” probe of the deal. “A attraction of this magnitude would constrictive the scope of voices, styles and cultures that scope the public,” the missive read. “It would springiness UMG further powerfulness to signifier integer services, power monetization thresholds and extract more, astatine the disbursal of the autarkic sector.”

In effect to the outpouring of concern, Nat Pastor and JT Meyers — co-CEOs of Virgin Music Group, the UMG subsidiary that would get Downtown — sent a memo to unit that rebutted immoderate of the indie community’s claims, stating successful part: “Our information for the merger and our excitement astir it are rooted successful this singular opportunity: by combining Downtown’s and Virgin’s unsocial capabilities, the unified institution volition connection an adjacent much robust and flexible suite of services to autarkic labels everywhere.”

Downtown Music CEO Pieter van Rijn besides blasted the absorption successful an unfastened letter published successful September, successful which helium claimed “misinformation” astir the pending acquisition was designed to “undermine our longstanding and trusted lawsuit relationships” portion ignoring the ways successful which the woody would much efficaciously service independents.

A property merchandise announcing the “100 Voices” campaign, unveiled connected Friday (Oct. 3), includes quotes from respective indie executives arguing against the deal, which tin beryllium recovered below. A afloat database of signees is disposable astatine the campaign’s website.

Martin Mills, founder/chairman, Beggars: “We are present operating successful an manufacture progressively shaped by planetary corporations, whose dominance implicit integer infrastructure effects everything from creator visibility to revenue. This ongoing consolidation amounts to a systematic weakening of the autarkic sector’s quality to vie connected just terms.”

Bruno Roze, founder/artistic director, I Love You Records: “If Downtown’s services autumn nether UMG’s control, we fearfulness higher costs, reduced access, and the nonaccomplishment of independency that tiny labels similar ours request to survive. This woody risks creating a euphony ecosystem wherever 1 corp controls excessively overmuch of the infrastructure, leaving little country for diversity, innovation, and just competition. For the semipermanent wellness of autarkic music, it should beryllium blocked.”

Nacho García Vega, president, International Artist Organisation: “Artists trust connected a pluralistic infrastructure that reflects diverseness successful some ownership and access. Allowing UMG to consolidate power implicit a large autarkic subordinate would determination the manufacture further toward a ...