🔵 Exclusive: Universal tightens its grip around NTS Radio
Another grim development in the indie landscape
I received an anonymous tipoff earlier today of an update to NTS Radio’s filings on Companies House, here in the UK.
Let’s remind ourselves of developments here: back in late 2023, it became clear that Universal had quietly acquired a minority stake in NTS Radio. It was the First Floor substack that broke the news, and I then covered it, asking how this sale had gone through without indies managing to be at the table to bid.
As we have seen elsewhere, Universal has a modus operandi in which it takes a smaller stake in a company, and then ultimately winds up owning it. PIAS is a case in point, with a 49% stake purchased back in 2022, which then expanded to 100% last year.
Whilst the same does not appear to be happening here, the developments are still concerning. According to documents filed on Companies House, NTS has secured some kind of loan with Universal. Using a couple of AI systems to decode the 34 page document, it would appear the situation is as follows:
On 17 April 2025, NTS Live Ltd created a legal charge in favour of Universal Music Operations Ltd.
A charge is a form of security interest—similar to a mortgage—over the company's assets, meaning NTS has agreed that Universal can claim certain rights over NTS’s assets if NTS fails to meet the terms of the agreement (e.g. fails to repay a loan).
The charge covers:
All property NTS owns or may acquire in the future (buildings, leases, etc.).
All intellectual property, including copyrights, trademarks, and patents.
It includes both fixed charges (on specific assets) and floating charges (over general business assets).
There is also a negative pledge, meaning NTS cannot offer the same assets as security to another lender.
In short: NTS has borrowed money (or secured an investment or credit facility) from Universal Music, using all its property and IP as collateral.
This does not mean Universal owns NTS, but if NTS defaults, Universal can take legal control of those assets.
(You can read the specific document here, in case anyone wishes to double check facts etc.)
Now granted, this does not mean that NTS is solely owned by Universal… yet. However it certainly shows that the beloved radio station is now entirely in debt to a major label, and that does not feel like a positive step for either NTS itself, or for indie culture in general.
Another one bites the dust? Time will tell.
Have a great evening,
D.
🎶 Listening to “Saving Flowers (Hudson Mohawke Remix)” by salute ft. Rina Sawayama. If there’s some kind of poker-like score for how many different MU clients we can all have on the one song, this must surely be full house: Salute (Ninja Tune), feat. Rina Sawayama (Dirty Hit) and remixed by HudMo (Warp/LuckyMe). A belter of a tune too - play loud!
📺 Watching “Iterative Sound Design with VISCO and Synplant” on YouTube. This is one for the geeks: using AI-powered resynthesis to “sample” sounds into playable patches, and then pass them back and forth between two resynthesis engines to keep evolving those sounds. Sounds complex, but is not in practice and it produces wild results. Also incredibly good fun!
🤖 Playing with Battalion, the drum synth from Unfiltered Audio (disclosure: a MU client). This is a phenomenal drum synth, which is rapidly feeling as essential as Microtonic for me. If you love synth drum sounds (think Autechre among others) then this is a gem of a plugin.
A great watch worth your time:
I really love Tom Truitt’s “Smartest People In The Room” series, where clever music industry people are paired up to talk shop live on Zoom. Mercifully they’re also captured to YouTube, and this one featuring Dick Huey and Mike Pelczynski talking shop is eminently worth your time. Many great points are raised about the issues facing the industry today, particularly on topics such as fair remuneration to artists.
Do make time for it - and tomorrow (I think!) I will be cross-posting a great article Mike has written on his own Substack. Keep an eye out!
Notes & followups in dispatches:
I am going to be in Berlin from the 7th-10th May, to attend Superbooth and generally catch up with all the lovely people I know over there. However if you’re either there already or heading over for Superbooth too and think it’d be good to meet, drop me a line!
Similarly, I’ll be in Brighton for The Great Escape, so same applies there - yell if you fancy meeting whilst in town!
I’m still posting over on Bluesky too, so if you want hot takes on stories as they break etc, follow me over there. 🦋
Thx for sharing! Certainly interesting. Could be hard to find money from other investors for NTS, so I kind of understand that move.