It’s a achieved deal. The European Fee has permitted Common Music Group‘s proposed $775 million acquisition of Downtown Music Holdings.
The conditional approval is topic to UMG’s dedication to divest Downtown’s Curve royalty accounting enterprise.
The inexperienced mild from the EC, introduced Friday (February 13), concludes a regulatory course of spanning greater than a yr since UMG’s Virgin Music Group first introduced the transaction in December 2024.
Nat Pastor & JT Myers, Co-CEOs of Virgin Music Group stated in a press release:“Bringing Downtown’s distinctive workforce and capabilities to Virgin Music Group means larger flexibility and a sharper set of companies for impartial entrepreneurs, artists and labels.”
Photograph Credit score: Jordan Strauss
“We recognize the European Fee’s considerate overview and stay up for welcoming our new Downtown companions and colleagues as we proceed to empower the impartial group collectively.”
Nat Pastor & JT Myers, Co-CEOs of Virgin Music Group
They added: “By uniting two culturally suitable corporations with deeply complementary strengths, we’re making a extra highly effective, extra open ecosystem that provides impartial entrepreneurs the assets, funding and expertise to succeed on their very own phrases. We recognize the European Fee’s considerate overview and stay up for welcoming our new Downtown companions and colleagues as we proceed to empower the impartial group collectively.”
“We’re delighted to enter this subsequent chapter of Downtown’s evolution and work carefully with Nat, JT and the broader Virgin workforce to proceed championing impartial music on a really world scale.”
Pieter van Rijn, Downtown Music
Pieter van Rijn, CEO of Downtown Music added: “By becoming a member of forces with Virgin Music Group, we’re serving to construct a extra various, dynamic and opportunity-rich setting—one which amplifies independence and expands the cultural impression of the extraordinary companions we serve. We’re delighted to enter this subsequent chapter of Downtown’s evolution and work carefully with Nat, JT and the broader Virgin workforce to proceed championing impartial music on a really world scale.”
Established in 2007, Downtown collectively serves over 5,000 enterprise shoppers and greater than 4 million creators in 145 international locations. The corporate’s portfolio of companies additionally consists of FUGA, Downtown Artist & Label Providers, CD Child, Downtown Music Publishing and Songtrust.
Following the EC’s choice and the closing of the deal, Curve Royalties might be held as a separate enterprise till its divestment.
Valdis Dombrovskis, Commissioner for Financial system and Productiveness; Implementation and Simplification, stated in a press release: “The music business performs an vital function in bringing artists’ creations to audiences, and it’s important to uphold the provision of various service suppliers for shoppers.”
“Our in-depth investigation confirmed that a lot of corporations will proceed to supply their distribution companies to European music labels and artists.”
Valdis Dombrovskis, Commissioner
“Our in-depth investigation confirmed that a lot of corporations will proceed to supply their distribution companies to European music labels and artists.
“By requiring the divestment of Curve, we’re taking a decisive step to guard delicate knowledge and stop it from being managed by a big competitor. At present’s choice displays the Fee’s dedication to selling honest competitors and supporting a thriving and various music panorama in Europe.”
Beneath the phrases of the approval, UMG should promote Curve Royalty Techniques as a standalone enterprise to an impartial purchaser permitted by the Fee.
The divestiture addresses the EC’s major competitors concern: that UMG might acquire entry to commercially delicate knowledge saved and processed by Curve, probably hampering rival labels’ capacity to compete.
UMG submitted formal commitments to the EC in December outlining the Curve divestiture plan. The proposed treatment dedicated UMG to divesting your complete Curve enterprise, together with all workers (besides two retained engineers), buyer contracts, and the Curve Platform software program and associated belongings.
The approval permits UMG to proceed with buying Downtown’s different subsidiaries, together with FUGA music distribution, CD Child, and Songtrust publishing administration, considerably increasing Virgin Music Group’s capabilities in serving impartial artists and labels.
The deal confronted a prolonged regulatory journey after UMG formally notified the Fee of the transaction on 16 June 2025. The EC opened an in-depth Section II investigation on 22 July 2025, following an preliminary Section I overview, citing preliminary considerations that the transaction might enable UMG to cut back competitors within the wholesale distribution marketplace for recorded music within the European Financial Space.
In November, the Fee escalated issues additional by issuing a Assertion of Objections to UMG, formally outlining its considerations about potential knowledge entry points stemming from UMG’s possession of Curve.
All through the method, UMG maintained confidence the deal can be permitted. Following the Assertion of Objections, a UMG spokesperson stated the corporate seemed ahead to “persevering with to work constructively with the Fee towards a profitable conclusion of this course of.”
The transaction attracted fierce opposition from components of the impartial musical c group. Over 200 folks signed a letter in July objecting to the acquisition, together with workers from Beggars Group and Secretly Group corporations. A “100 Voices” marketing campaign launched in October that includes testimonies from indie representatives urged the EC to dam the deal outright.
IMPALA, which represents impartial labels in Europe, had referred to as on the regulator to ban the deal, arguing that treatments can be ineffective in addressing competitors considerations.
