🔵 Still not done buying indies: Universal now hoovers up Downtown Music

Another collection of indie stalwarts falls to the majors

Hi there -

Just when we thought 2024 was wrapped up and the more negative stories had abated, Universal Music stepped up to once again make its presence felt.

Yesterday, press ran announcing that Universal’s Virgin Music Group was acquiring Downtown Music Holdings, home to FUGA, Songtrust, CD Baby, Curve Royalty Accounting, Downtown Artist & Label Services and Downtown Publishing, among others. The price? A whopping $775M.

The first thing that struck me here is Universal’s attempts to soften the blow of a move that will, one would hope, cause massive outcry at a point where many felt the company’s acquisition of PIAS was a step too far. For this press release then, it is not “Universal” buying Downtown, but “Virgin Music Group”. It feels like a determined effort to avoid looking like the world’s largest recorded music group was not, in fact, swallowing up yet another huge chunk of the independent music industry.

And then there is that word: “independent”. Read the press release over on MBW and it pops up four times in the quotes. Clearly, this is a term everyone is keen to hammer home now. Universal is now an independent music company! Of course, this creates a kind of combusting paradox instantly invalidating the term “independent”. More on that in a mo.

As of this afternoon when writing this, responses have been coming through from trade bodies, and whilst some feel a little tepid (AIM), those from Impala and Martin Mills carry the kind of invective I was hoping for.

Impala feel like the best-placed trade body to really be the thorn in Universal’s side here. Historically, it has been more effective than most, arguably I feel because it has a more sympathetic ear with the EU - one which has already shown a willingness to stand up to Big Tech and corporations, and which has also shown a propensity to actually take action.

Competition complaints aside, I just find myself sympathising with all those working for Downtown’s businesses. I know a good few people there, and they’re all keen indie champions who are passionate about bring in that sector, so I’ve no doubt plenty will have mixed emotions about now being part of a major. Even more sadly though, there’s a nastier reality here, which is that Universal has shown itself to be quick to make layoffs and cuts, and that I would imagine a good number of jobs will be affected if this acquisition is allowed to go ahead.

If it does, it feels like it is declaring open season on indie businesses, possibly opening the floodgates to more businesses cashing out by selling up. Could BMG exit via a sale, for example? Not an outlandish notion, based on history, when the company eventually sold to Sony, suggesting something of a trend maybe. If it did, would/could Universal be the buyer? And if not, does it just set a precedent where either Sony or Warner could make the purchase and it also pass any competition scrutiny?

Whilst analysing this all, I have a recurring issue circling in my head.

You could argue that at this point, the majors have won - particularly Universal. They have successfully swallowed up whole chunks of the indie sector, greatly weakening the latter’s market (and bargaining) power in the process. Read back through the goings on of the last 2-3 years and it all points to that eventuality.

But here’s a counterpoint, and it’s a controversial one: the majors have lost, and lost so badly that they now have to hoover up the artist services businesses. The power has shifted so totally to the artists that major label long-term IP deals simply won’t be accepted in a world where, truth be told, they are not so necessary in order to get a successful campaign away. Perhaps proof of this is best illustrated at Sony, where The Orchard and AWAL now occupy a significant percentage of the company’s overall revenues. Over time though, catalogue ownership’s value will diminish (after all, we are not creating new, long-term megastars any more) and with no long-term IP to own and exploit, the inherent value of the likes of Universal will wane. They have won the battle, but they will ultimately lose the war.

Another thought: maybe, just maybe, the term “independent” is no longer fit for purpose. As we have seen before now, the term itself becomes complicated when you consider, for example, the classic label businesses of Beggars or Domino with the more diffuse business approach of Believe. All of them are technically independent if we use that term in a simple “not a major label” sense, but I think it is safe to suggest that, for example, Beggars Group would not see itself as having much shared ideological ground as someone like Believe.

So perhaps “independent” is a redundant term now. It reminds me of how my company Motive Unknown used to be a “digital marketing” one, but is really just a “marketing” one because let’s face it, 99% of marketing happens in the digital realm now. Ergo, that further classification is unnecessary.

Both sides of this argument - i.e. that the majors have won, or lost - could be argued very competently in my view. I’ve no doubt the likes of Impala will be building a strong case to prevent the Downtown acquisition from happening. However, as we have seen already - through moments like Sony buying AWAL - there are cases to be made that might even mirror my points above.

Where that leaves the current indie sector is anyone’s guess. If Universal seem hellbent on owning and using the “independent” term (as the press release suggests) then those of us not in the employ or ownership of a major label might need to find a new collective expression to toss around here. That would extend to trade bodies too, whom I have been critical of this year. Perhaps this is why: they all need to move away from the “independent” term (and focus that comes with that) and instead create a single, global body that can represent non-major label businesses and operators with real efficiency and impact. It might freshen things up and provide a chance to really be noticed and heard. Which is not to say that trade bodies are ignored at the moment; as mentioned before, Impala for one has been impactful, but I still feel there are too many in number and protection of this industry would be better coming from one unified source rather than many slightly weaker ones.

Any which way, it feels like the very way we define and present this sector has to be re-thought and presented differently. The whole independent/major thing just won’t work now.

The questions then, are “what does?”, and “how can that be focused into preventing this entire sector being bought up by the majors?”.

I am curious to hear people’s thoughts…

Have a great evening,

D.

🎶 Listening to “Be (intro)” by Common. Like a marathon runner crawling over the finish line, I feel pretty drained as we move towards Christmas. Musically, I’ve needed some moments that amount to a pick-me-up, and Common’s album “Be” is one such example. It’s a throwback to a time when Kanye was a production genius and not… whatever he has now become. The whole record is like a warm hug, and I think we all need a bit of that right now.

📺 Watching “ASMR Making Peppermint Candy Canes (with explanations & minimal talking)” on YouTube. I can’t defend this; it’s pure comfort viewing, LOL. Festive, super relaxing… and far more interesting than it should be. Yeah, I said it. Watch it and thank me later 😆

🤖 Playing with Mix Monolith. I’ve written about this in the past but I spent the weekend mixing an album down and my word did this plugin earn its keep. You basically add it on each channel in your DAW, telling it what the instrument is (drums, bass etc) and it then balances the mix, gain-staging it ready for mastering too. Incredibly handy and a massive time saver - which, when you have 9 tracks to mix, certainly adds up.

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Notes in dispatches:

• My appearance on Scuba’s “Not A Diving Podcast” is now up! You can listen on Apple’s Podcast platform here, or on Spotify here. This was a fantastic chat, amounting to a review of 2024 from an industry perspective, and looking forward to what might happen in 2025. It was an absolute joy to do - huge thanks to Paul for having me on. 🙏🏻

• Our final Network Notes will be going out Thurs/Fri this week, which will round up the most popular posts of 2024, and what happened after they went out. Keep an eye out. 👀

• Finally, a reminder that I’m now posting over on Bluesky too, so if you want hot takes on stories as they break etc, follow me over there. 🦋

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