Virgin Music Group reveals new global leadership following Downtown acquisition

Virgin Music Group unveiled its new global and regional leadership team on June 30, a few months after the acquisition of Downtown Music was officially completed in February. The deal was worth 775 million dollars and was approved by the European Commission on the condition that Universal Music Group divest the royalty accounting platform Curve Royalty Systems. The transaction had already been announced in December 2024, but the regulatory process took more than a year to complete.

The new organization is led by co CEOs JT Myers and Nat Pastor, who jointly head a structure divided across six regions, with all regional directors reporting directly to them. Pieter van Rijn, former CEO of Downtown, joined as Chief Operating Officer of Virgin Music Group in February. Reporting to him are Tom Allen, co founder of Curve Royalty Systems, as Chief Technology Officer, and David Driessen as Chief Product Officer, among others. Christiaan Kröner takes on the role of Executive Vice President Global Operations, Matt Sawin becomes EVP Physical and Direct to Fan Growth, and Gareth Mellor steps in as SVP Communications and Brand Strategy.

At the regional level, several former Downtown executives have been appointed to key positions. Sarah Landy becomes Senior VP Business Development in North America, working under Jacqueline Saturn as President North America. In Europe, Liz Northeast joins as Senior VP and General Manager under Nick Roden, President Europe. Renato Vanzella becomes Managing Director for Brazil, reporting to Cris Falcao, President of Brazil and Portugal. Nathan McLay stays on as Managing Director for Australia and New Zealand, Michael Roe continues as Managing Director for Asia, the Middle East and Africa, and Victor González remains President for Latin America, Spanish speaking America and Spain.

Molly Neuman remains President of CD Baby and Emily Stephenson stays on as President of Downtown Music Publishing. In addition to CD Baby, the acquisition included services such as FUGA, Songtrust and Downtown Artist and Label Services. Ben Patterson, former President of Downtown Artist and Label Services, will head up a new artist focused company that works in partnership with Virgin Music Group. Downtown founder Justin Kalifowitz departed the company when the deal closed.

The combined organization now serves partners in more than 145 countries and has over four million artists and creators in its network, alongside more than five thousand business clients. Its service offering covers digital and physical distribution, marketing, business intelligence, neighboring rights, synchronization, royalty management and publishing administration. Nat Pastor commented: "Virgin Music Group and Downtown have each built their reputations by superserving the independent community and empowering local teams. This combined structure will help grow those strengths, continuing to innovate while deepening the entrepreneurial culture and trusted relationships that will define our future." Myers added: "Our ambition is to keep expanding what's possible for the independent music community."

For the Dutch music industry, this merger carries real significance. FUGA, one of the acquired services, is originally a Dutch company and plays an important role in digital distribution for independent labels worldwide. Pieter van Rijn also has Dutch roots. The increased scale that Virgin Music Group is now achieving could have consequences for Dutch independent artists and labels that use the services now falling under the new umbrella organization.