A few weeks in the past, we informed you about the 21 largest offers of 2024. Now, we’ll should make that 22.
On Monday (December 16), Common Music‘s Virgin Music Group revealed that it’s agreed to purchase Downtown Music Holdings LLC (Downtown) in a deal value $775 million.
The acquisition, which is topic to regulatory approvals, is anticipated to shut within the second half of 2025.
Downtown, based by Justin Kalifowitz, began life as a music writer in 2007 however right now acts as a ‘pure’ companies firm that operates throughout recorded music, publishing, and different areas.
As a part of a plan to go all-in on the worldwide companies sector (by being a companion to copyright holders somewhat than proudly owning copyrights itself), Downtown bought its owned catalog of 145,000 copyrights to Harmony in 2021 for round $400 million. A number of M&A offers over the previous 5 years have been central to Downtown’s services-focused technique.
At this time, Downtown works with over 5,000 enterprise shoppers and greater than 4 million creators in 145 international locations throughout its varied companies.
Under, you’ll discover key details and stats concerning the companies and platforms owned by Downtown right now, displaying the breadth of Common Music/Virgin Music’s mammoth $775 million deal…
FUGA is an Amsterdam-born B2B tech and companies firm, which was acquired by Downtown in January 2020.
FUGA claims to be “the most important full-service B2B music distributor on the planet” and says on its web site that it really works with “greater than 1,000 music rights holders”.
As a B2B companies supplier, the corporate provides customized company-branded white-label distribution and analytics dashboards in addition to international bodily distribution.
FUGA’s B2B shoppers even have entry to advertising and marketing companies, royalty accounting, UGC and rights administration and extra.
Downtown Artist & Label Providers
Downtown’s Artist & Label Providers division was shaped in April 2023 and is led by Ben Patterson (pictured), who serves as President.
The Artist & Label Providers unit was born from Downtown’s distribution arm DashGo, and the corporate has beforehand mentioned that it’s “integral” to its “core mission to empower artists and construct an equitable music ecosystem”.
DashGo was acquired by Downtown in 2019 when it acquired AVL Digital Group for an estimated $200 million. Patterson based DashGo in 2004.
Downtown says that its Artist & Label Providers division’s shoppers embrace “profession artists and unbiased labels on the forefront of well-liked tradition”.
The Artist & Label Providers division was launched six months after Downtown shaped a division known as ‘Downtown Music’, combining all of its international enterprise {and professional} companies.
Curve Royalties
Curve Royalty Programs is a royalty processing platform acquired by Downtown in January 2023.
In Could of this 12 months, Curve founder Tom Allen was appointed President of a new division known as Downtown Royalties & Monetary Providers (DR&FS).
The division focuses on three core actions, together with royalty processing (powered by the Curve Platform), royalty accounting companies, and funds.
By way of Curve, DR&FS already works with greater than 1,000 labels and publishers worldwide, together with Domino, Defected, Epitaph, Mad First rate, Armada, Cloud9, Demon Music and Massive Machine, amongst many others.
Downtown mentioned on the time of its launch that the goal of the Royalties & Monetary Providers Division is to “make royalty companies, accounting, and funds quicker and less complicated throughout rights for its greater than 5,000 enterprise shoppers and 4 million artist relations”.
CD Child is Downtown’s ‘Direct-to-Creator’ division, led by President Molly Neuman.
CD Child grew to become a part of Downtown in 2019 when it swooped for AVL Digital Group and its portfolio of companies for unbiased artists – in a USD $200 million deal.
Downtown then transitioned from being a major proprietor of music rights originally of 2021, to focusing solely on the worldwide companies sector when it bought its owned catalog of 145,000 copyrights to Harmony for round $400 million.
The operations of CD Child just lately merged into DMH’s Downtown Music division. The transfer arrived as a part of DMH’s long-term plan to focus solely on the companies sector.
Downtown introduced in April that it had accomplished its integration technique throughout its business-to-business and creator-focused companies right into a single working firm. As a part of the combination, Pieter van Rijn was appointed CEO of Downtown Music, reporting into Andrew Bergman, CEO of Downtown Music Holdings.
Downtown notes that its Music Publishing division, led by President Emily Stephenson (pictured), represents “practically 100 years of well-liked music”.
The division’s shoppers embrace John Lennon & Yoko Ono, George Gershwin, Miles Davis, Wu-Tang Clan, John Prine, and lots of others.
On Monday, citing an interview with Stephenson, Billboard reported that Downtown Music Publishing is on the right track to generate over $200 million in gross income in 2024, up 40% YoY.
The Billboard article famous that Downtown’s Music Publishing division manages over 1.5 million copyrights and has distributed over $100 million in royalties via Songtrust.
In August, Downtown Music Publishing struck a world deal with Double P Data, the label and publishing arm based by George Prajin and Música Mexicana celebrity Peso Pluma.
In September, DMP struck a world music publishing deal with PDU, the report label and publishing firm of iconic Italian singer Mina.
Downtown Neighbouring Rights
Downtown Neighbouring Rights is described as “a bespoke, consumer relationship-focused neighbouring rights assortment service for performers and rights holders”.
The division was launched in 2020 underneath the management of Normal Supervisor Dean Francis. Its celebrity shoppers embrace Lindsay Buckingham (pictured), whom it signed in 2021, amongst others.
The division provides neighbouring rights assortment and analytics companies with direct affiliations with greater than 50 assortment societies and efficiency rights organizations world wide.
Downtown Neighbouring Rights has made a raft of worldwide signings because the starting of the 12 months. The corporate introduced worldwide neighboring rights agreements with singer-songwriter, ANOHNI – representing the songwriter’s Academy Award-nominated tune, Manta Ray and Mercury Prize-winning album, I Am a Hen Now – in addition to international agreements with writer and label, Place Music and TH3RD BRAIN Data; house to Brazilian producer, Zerb whose single Mwaki hit No.1 on Spotify’s Viral 50 World and No.2 on World Shazam charts.
Sheer Publishing Africa
Johannesburg-headquartered Sheer Publishing is claimed to be the most important unbiased music writer on the African continent.
Downtown’s acquisition of the corporate in 2020 marked Downtown’s formal enlargement to Africa.
Following the acquisition, Sheer continued to perform as a standalone enterprise inside Downtown’s portfolio of music publishing, distribution, monetization, artist, and label companies companies.
Based in 1996, Sheer has well-established relationships with assortment societies world wide, and is a direct member of Africa-based royalty assortment entities, together with the South African Music Rights Group (SAMRO), MCSK (Kenya) and COSON (Nigeria).
Songtrust
Songtrust is claimed to be the world’s largest international royalty assortment platform for songwriters and music publishers.
Based on the corporate’s web site, it administers over 4 million songs for greater than 445,000 songwriters, companies, and rights holders world wide.
Songtrust says that it screens, registers, and collects publishing royalties from 65 international pay sources, “offering entry to nearly all of the world’s music market in over 240 international locations and territories on behalf of our shoppers”.
Discovered.ee
Discovered.ee (pronounced FOUN-dee) is an promoting and digital advertising and marketing platform that povides artists, managers and labels with a variety of instruments to construct, goal and optimize promotional campaigns.
Downtown Music Holdings acquired the mental property and expertise that underpins the Discovered.ee platform in 2021.
Downtown-owned CD Child was a minority investor in Discovered.ee previous to the acquisition and was already utilizing the platform to energy its promotional and advertising and marketing capabilities out there to CD Child artists.
Discovered.ee says that it’s utilized by greater than 25,000 creators worldwide.
Soundrop
Soundrop is a DIY music distribution service.
The platform was beforehand a division of AVL Digital, which was acquired by Downtown Music Holdings in 2019, in a $200 million deal.Music Enterprise Worldwide
