Today, the global independent music division of Universal Music Group, Virgin Music Group, made a significant announcement. It has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Downtown Music Holdings LLC for a cash consideration of $775 million (approximately €737 million). This acquisition, which is subject to regulatory approvals, is expected to close in the second half of 2025.

Expanding the Independent Music Community

JT Myers, Co-CEO of Virgin Music Group, emphasized the importance of this acquisition. "Justin Kalifowitz, Andrew Bergman and Pieter Van Rijn have built Downtown Music into one of the most diversified and respected operations in the world. This combination enables us to expand on the Downtown legacy and offer the independent music community a dynamic and innovative global infrastructure both in terms of service offering and territorial footprint. We look forward to working with the Downtown team to serve independent entrepreneurs, artists and creators with an even broader portfolio of services."

About Downtown Music Holdings

Downtown is a 'pure' services company across recorded music, publishing, and other areas. It was initially established as a music publishing company in 2007 and today runs more than 20 offices across six continents. The company has core divisions across Artist & Label Services, Distribution, Royalties & Financial Services, and Music Publishing. Its portfolio of businesses includes FUGA, Downtown Artist & Label Services, Curve Royalties, CD Baby, Downtown Music Publishing and Songtrust. Downtown collectively serves over 5,000 business clients and more than four million creators in 145 countries. Downtown clients were recently recognized with nearly 150 nominations for the upcoming 2025 GRAMMYs.

The Importance of the Deal

Justin Kalifowitz, Founder of Downtown Music Holdings, expressed his excitement. "On behalf of Andrew, Pieter and myself, it is very exciting for Downtown to be joining forces with Virgin Music. This is a tremendous recognition of the importance and vitality of independent music, and the value that our company brings to its clients every day. Downtown was established with the belief that artists and entrepreneurs everywhere and at every stage are entitled to the same tools and opportunities to succeed. We have no doubt that the breadth and high level of service Downtown provides to its clients will be strengthened working with Nat, JT and the whole Virgin Music team."Nat Pastor, Co-CEO of Virgin Music Group, also shared his perspective. "It’s an exciting time for Virgin as we continue to build a next-generation music company for independent artists and labels. We aren’t just making an acquisition; this is an investment into the global independent music ecosystem and a commitment to nurture current and future creators and entrepreneurs with world-class support, services, and capabilities they require at any phase of their careers."

Services and Operations

As one of the leading service providers to the global music industry, Downtown's technology and service offerings support creators and businesses in music creation, distribution, publishing, marketing, royalty collection, financing, accounting, and payment services. This extensive range of services will be integrated with Virgin Music Group's existing operations, creating a more comprehensive and powerful platform for the independent music community.