VIRGIN MUSIC GROUP RECEIVES EUROPEAN COMMISSION APPROVAL FOR DOWNTOWN ACQUISITION
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 13, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Virgin Music Group (VMG) and Downtown Music Holdings LLC (Downtown) today welcomed the European Commission's approval of VMG's acquisition of Downtown. The deal will bring together two industry-leading providers of music services and technology, enhancing their offerings and capabilities to serve the independent music community. The European Commission's approval is the final regulatory condition required to complete the transaction, which is now expected to close in the coming weeks.
Together, Virgin Music Group and Downtown will create a global, end-to-end solution to meet the evolving needs of independent artists, entrepreneurs and rights holders at every stage. The combination will offer a broader, more flexible suite of services, ranging from high-touch to self-service, across digital and physical distribution, marketing, business intelligence, neighboring rights, synchronization, royalties and publishing rights management.
Initially established in 2007, Downtown collectively serves over 5,000 business clients and more than four million creators in 145 countries. Today, the company has core divisions across Artist & Label Services, Distribution, and Music Publishing. Its portfolio of businesses also includes FUGA, Downtown Artist & Label Services, CD Baby, Downtown Music Publishing and Songtrust. Following the EC's decision and the closing of the deal, Curve Royalties will be held as a separate business until its divestment.
Nat Pastor & JT Myers, Co-CEOs of Virgin Music Group commented, "Bringing Downtown's exceptional team and capabilities to Virgin Music Group means greater flexibility and a sharper set of services for independent entrepreneurs, artists and labels. By uniting two culturally compatible companies with deeply complementary strengths, we're creating a more powerful, more open ecosystem that offers independent entrepreneurs the resources, investment and technology to succeed on their own terms. We appreciate the European Commission's thoughtful review and look forward to welcoming our new Downtown partners and colleagues as we continue to empower the independent community together."
Pieter van Rijn, CEO of Downtown Music said, "By joining forces with Virgin Music Group, we're helping build a more diverse, dynamic and opportunity-rich environment—one that amplifies independence and expands the cultural impact of the extraordinary partners we serve. We're delighted to enter this next chapter of Downtown's evolution and work closely with Nat, JT and the wider Virgin team to continue championing independent music on a truly global scale."
About Virgin Music Group
Virgin Music Group is one of the world's leading partners to independent music companies and artists and offers global infrastructure and local expertise in every major music market around the world. Virgin Music Group offers compelling, efficient, and highly flexible global solutions with advanced marketing technology for independent record labels, artists and entrepreneurs who want to succeed. www.virginmusic.com
About Downtown Music
Downtown Music is the world's leading music services company. Its global ecosystem supports millions of creators, rights holders and their partners to manage their music as a business and get paid fairly for their work. Across its three core divisions – Distribution and Artist & Label Services (FUGA and Downtown A&LS), Publishing Services (Downtown Music Publishing and Songtrust) and CD Baby. Downtown collectively serves over 5,000 business clients and reaches over 4 million creators & artists in 145 countries. www.downtownmusic.com
SOURCE Virgin Music Group
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