Independent music community urges block of UMG’s acquisition of Downtown Music
Over 100 industry leaders have made new appeals to the European Commission
More than 100 industry leaders, artists, and businesses from the independent music community are urging for the block of Universal Music Group (UMG)’s acquisition of Downtown Music Holdings.
They’re making “fresh appeals” to the European Commission on why the deal should be blocked, after hundreds more industry leaders signed an open letter calling on the launch of an investigation into the deal in July.
The open letter, addressed to the Executive Vice-President at the European Commission (EC), Teresa Ribera, saw a coalition of CEOs and founders working in independent music argue that the US$775 million deal could “stifle experimentation”.
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Over 100 representatives from 20 countries have now shared their “personal accounts” in a new campaign named 100 Voices, which is said to illustrate the reason why "those affected believe the deal should be blocked”.
“We are now operating in an industry increasingly shaped by global corporations, whose dominance over digital infrastructure affects everything from artist visibility to revenue,” says Martin Mills, Founder and Chairman of Beggars Group.
“This ongoing consolidation amounts to a systematic weakening of the independent sector's ability to compete on fair terms,” he adds.
The publication of 100 Voices follows a meeting held on Thursday, October 2, between independent music label heads and the European Commissioner for Economy and Productivity, Valdis Dombrovskis.
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Those who are part of the campaign include the CEOs and founders of Better Noise, Secretly Group, Domino Recording, AIM, InFiné, and many more.
“When unchecked growth disrupts an ecosystem, diversity suffers,” explains Birte Wiemann, Project Manager at Cargo Records.
“If UMG acquires Downtown, entire independent structures are absorbed, giving UMG new power over DSPs and data that weakens independents. The result is less diversity, more homogenised output, and a cultural niche increasingly sidelined.”
Find out more about the 100 Voices campaign here.
Gemma Ross is Mixmag's Associate Digital Editor, follow her on Twitter
