Indies Oppose UMG-Downtown Deal With ‘100 Voices’ Campaign

AIM’s Gee Davy and WIN’s Noemí Planas, who reiterated their opposition to UMG’s proposed Downtown Music buyout in a new ‘100 Voices’ campaign. Photo Credit: AIM and WIN

Indie musicians, execs, and organizations are once again urging the European Commission to block Universal Music’s proposed Downtown buyout – this time with a “100 Voices” campaign.

In keeping with its name, that campaign features over 100 comments addressing the UMG-Downtown deal’s indie-sector impact. Though about 30 of the signatories opted to remain anonymous, the likes of Chrysalis COO Alison Wenham, Exceleration Music partner Charles Caldas, Beggars Group chair Martin Mills, and Faust co-founder Hans Joachim Irmler added their names to the petition.

So did the heads of the entities behind the push – IMPALA, AIM, and WIN among them – and a “selection of these views” was provided to the European Commission’s Valdis Dombrovskis during a meeting yesterday.

That was a private sit down, but we shouldn’t have too difficult a time inferring the nature of the discussions. In the first place, the mentioned organizations have been voicing competition and market-concentration concerns about the $775 million deal from the outset; July saw some 200 indie execs urge the Commission to turn the regulatory scrutiny up a notch.

And per the 100 Voices website, the Commission – currently in the second phase of its UMG-Downtown investigation, with a decision expected sometime in 2026 – should “block this deal outright.”

“If Downtown’s services fall under UMG’s control,” summed up I Love You Records founder Bruno Roze, “we fear higher costs, reduced access, and the loss of independence that small labels like ours need to survive.

“This deal risks creating a music ecosystem where one corporation controls too much of the infrastructure, leaving less room for diversity, innovation, and fair competition. For the long-term health of independent music, it should be blocked,” Roze concluded.

In comments of his own, Riku Pääkkönen, who sold Spinefarm Records to Universal Music in 2003, took aim at the buyout’s motivation and explored the deal’s competition consequences.

“I have previously sold a business to UMG,” the Ranka Kustannus owner added. “They mainly buy to kill the competition. They care very little of what they have acquired. Building another company like Downtown will be extremely difficult. Less competition means less choice for consumers. This is step closer for them having similar status than Live Nation has on live music scene.”

100 Voices is also encouraging others yet to weigh in on the proposed purchase – or more specifically why they believe it should be blocked.

As highlighted, we’ll have to wait a bit longer for the Commission’s decision; a September investigation pause delayed the determination, originally teed up for December, until an as-yet-unconfirmed date next year.