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UMG’s Downtown Deal Sparks Forceful Memos From Virgin CEOs, Hundreds of Indie Music Execs
UMG’s Downtown deal sparked forceful memos and open letters from Virgin Records co-CEOs and, now, hundreds ofindie music executives.
And in terms of the issues raised by many in the indie music community around major-owned consolidation — not just with UMG, but with Sony buying AWAL in 2022 and Warner very publicly in an acquisitive phase as it looks to bolster its own offerings — they pointed to the increase in private equity and entrepreneurial investment in distribution in the past half-decade. “The implications are profound,” the signatories write, in a letter sent to EC executive vp Teresa Ribera, which raises many of the same points that the individual companies have brought up in past statements. The letter is signed by business owners, association leaders and top execs from companies such as A2IM, 4AD, AIM, Beggars, Better Noise, Chrysalis, Cooking Vinyl, Dead Oceans, Domino, Epitaph, Exceleration Music, Hopeless, Jagjaguwar, Matador, Merge, Rough Trade, Secretly, Sub Pop, The Numero Group, Warp, XL, Young and more.
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