Virgin Music Group
Reggaetón star Nicky Jam has signed a new global agreement with Virgin Music Group after spending more than a decade with Sony Music Latin.
Under the new agreement, Nicky Jam’s new music will be distributed by Virgin Music Group, which will also administer and supervise Nicky Jam’s catalog for YouTube and will work some material in digital platforms in different territories.
Nicky Jam (born Nick Rivera Camerino) disclosed the terms and impetus behind the deal during an exclusive interview with Billboard in Miami.
“I went with my gut,” he tells Billboard, noting that his contract with Sony had been up and he had met with several labels. “I thought it was the best thing to do. I have too much respect for Afo [Verde, chairman of Sony Music Latin Iberia] and my Sony family. I owe a lot to them and I love them very much. It’s just that sometimes you feel you have to move. I’m very spontaneous and that’s just the way I am. I could say I’m a bohemian. I take my luggage and I go wherever I have to go.”
In this case, Nicky Jam decided to go with a company that is giving him broad latitude. He’ll get to retain ownership of his masters, and will also have wide latitude in determining when he releases his music.
“It’s a distribution contract, but under that contract I can come out with music whenever I want. They are not going to mess with my creative part and that’s beautiful,” says Jam.
Nicky Jam’s new label deal coincides with a series of major changes in both his personal and professional life. Last year, he got married (to 22-yer-old model Juana Valentina Varón], split with his longtime manager Juan Diego Medina and spoke openly about his problems with alcohol and quitting drinking.
From left: Larry Gonzalez, David Daza, Michael Cantor (VMG SVP, Business Affairs and Development), Chi Orjiakor (VMG VP, Strategy), Victor Gonzalez (VMG, President of Latin America and Iberia), Nicky Jam (Artist), and Armando Rodriguez (VMG SVP/General Manager of Latin U.S.).
Courtesy of Nicky Jam
Now, a fit and trim Nicky Jam is readying to release new music that he says reflects his current, positive state of mind. “If you listen to my last album, it was called Insomnio. It was mostly what I was going through: Drinking, partying, it was all dark,” says the singer. “This is the new Nicky Jam,” he adds.
“Nicky has been a true pioneer in Latin music,” says Victor González, president of Virgin Music Group for Latin America and the Iberian Peninsula. “Having him choose Virgin Music Group for this new chapter of his career is incredibly rewarding for me and our entire team.”
Armando Rodríguez, general manager of Virgin Music Group for the U.S. Latin market adds: “Nicky is creating incredible music, and we are excited to work alongside him—not only on his upcoming releases but also in developing a strategic approach for his entire catalog.”
In the past couple of years, Virgin has notably expanded its Latin footprint, signing major names in Mexican music like Carín León, Pepe Aguilar, Angela Aguilar and Espinoza Paz. In the urban realm, Nicky Jam is their biggest get. The Puerto Rican star brings a legacy of hits, including the “El Perdón,” the 2015 smash alongside Enrique Iglesias that spent 30 weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs chart. All told, Nicky has charted nine songs on the Billboard Hot 100 and 58 on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs chart, including five Number 1s. This week, he ranked at Nol 162 in streams globally on Spotify, a testament to his lasting appeal.
“This agreement with Virgin Music Group marks a new chapter in my artistic journey. I have always believed in the importance of evolution and adaptation, and I am confident that, together with Virgin Music Group, we will achieve incredible things,” says Nicky Jam.
Several more players in the independent music community have called on regulators to block the acquisition of Downtown Music Holdings by Universal Music Group (UMG) announced this week, arguing the deal “would seriously distort the global music market” and “reduce competition and the independents’ bargaining power.”
Virgin Music Group, which is owned by UMG, announced Monday (Dec. 16) that it had agreed to buy Downtown Music Holdings for $775 million in a deal that would beef up the music giant’s market share by absorbing Downtown’s stable of indie distributors, publishing and rights administrators including FUGA, CB Baby, AdRev and Songtrust. The deal came just two months after UMG acquired the remaining shares of indie label group [PIAS], including its services division, Integral — an agreement that was similarly criticized by indie trade groups, who have asked regulators to launch an investigation into the pact.
In a joint release Thursday (Dec. 19), several indie music leaders said the deal, if allowed to go through, would result “in fewer options for smaller companies to negotiate fair terms and compete on equal footing, leading to higher costs and less choice.”
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“We are the global independent music community,” said Noemí Planas, CEO of Worldwide Independent Network (WIN), in a statement. “UMG trying to present this as an investment in the independent ecosystem is fooling no one. This is wealth extraction from the independents, another step in UMG’s relentless path to dominance and stifling competition. Independent music is the lifeblood of cultural innovation and market consolidation threatens the diversity that makes music so rich and compelling around the world. We call on regulatory bodies to block the deal.”
Also speaking out against the acquisition was A2IM CEO Richard James Burgess, who stated: “Universal Music Group’s acquisition of Downtown Music’s assets continues a troubling trend of consolidating independent music infrastructure, following acquisitions of InGrooves, MTheory, and PIAS. This increasing level of market concentration chips away at the competitive landscape, making it increasingly difficult for truly independent artists and companies to operate freely and equitably. These acquisitions risk silencing the independent voices that drive innovation and creativity in the music industry.”
Added Darius Van Arman, CEO of Secretly Distribution and co-founder of Secretly Group, “When near-monopolist Universal acquires Downtown, one of the largest independent music ecosystems, and does so in the name of independence, it cheapens what the word means. Market consolidation at this scale is not only anti-competitive, it is a fundamental threat to true independence.”
Virgin’s purchase of Downtown is just the latest in a string of similar acquisitions by major labels over the last several years. In 2024 alone, UMG acquired Outdustry, a label services and rights management firm that works across China, India, and other Asian markets; Thailand-based recorded music catalog RS Group; Nigerian record label Mavin Global; and a minority stake in U.S.-based Chord Music Partners, among others. Two years ago, Sony Music made a splash when it acquired AWAL and Kobalt Neighbouring Rights from Kobalt Music Group, followed by the more recent acquisitions of companies like Spanish label and distributor Altafonte and Greek independent label Cobalt Music. And Warner Music Group has snapped up minority stakes in European indie labels of late, including Dancing Bear Music (Croatia), NIKA (Slovenia) and Mascom (Serbia); it also fully acquired the Dutch label Cloud 9 Recordings in October.
“Whilst we are in favour of free enterprise, monopolies dominate market forces and remove the ability to compete,” said Maria Amato, CEO of Australian Independent Record Labels Association (AIR), in a statement on the Downtown deal. “There must be regulation to ensure that Universal who is already the largest music business in the world with a large stake in Spotify does not dictate prices and the ability for artists and labels to negotiate fair and equitable terms.”
“The recent acquisition by large corporations of companies that until recently were independent is a red alert for the entire global independent music community,” added Felippe Llerena, president of Brazilian trade association ABMI. “The Orchard, AWAL, Som Livre, Proper Music, Altafonte and now Downtown Music are examples of how multinational capital is reshaping the sector. ABMI believes that it is our duty to protect and promote an independent ecosystem, where artists, labels and companies can create freely and sustainably. Our fight is for the appreciation of music as art, culture and expression, not as a simple market product.”
In her own statement, Cecilia Crespo, GM of the association of Argentinian record labels ASIAr, said: “Concentration not only has a negative impact in the way platforms distribute royalties to artists and rights holders (based on market share), but also due to the unregulated use of data and intelligence from the analysis of the data and the behavior of all actors involved (artists, audiences, and users).”
On Tuesday (Dec. 17), several other indie music players came out in opposition to the Downtown acquisition, including indie labels trade body IMPALA, the U.K.-based Association of Independent Music (AIM) and global indie music publishers trade body IMPF.
UMG didn’t immediately respond to Billboard‘s request for comment on the latest statements of opposition.
Three years after Downtown Music sold its 145,000-song catalog — including works performed by Aretha Franklin, David Bowie, Bruno Mars and Beyoncé — the president of its publishing division says it makes more money than it did when it owned copyrights.
That reveal comes amid Monday’s announcement that Universal Music Group’s Virgin Music Group is buying Downtown Music Holdings for $775 million in an all-cash deal expected to close by mid-next year.
Emily Stephenson, who since 2023 has been president of Downtown’s suite of publishing companies (Downtown Music Publishing, Songtrust and Sheer), says her division will generate more than $200 million in revenue in 2024, a 40% increase from last year and a higher gross than it had in 2020, the year before Concord bought its catalog.
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“We are in the middle of extreme growth mode right now,” says Stephenson, who has overseen client acquisition, business development, A&R, rights management and client services for Downtown since March 2023.
Since Stephenson took the lead, the publishing division has signed deals with indie rockers The National, Spirit Music Group and Peso Pluma’s Double P Records. According to the company, it now serves some 2 million songwriters and clients in over 60 countries — more than 40% of them outside the United States — manages over 1.5 million copyrights and has distributed over $100 million in royalties through Songtrust.
Access to additional funds has helped. In May, Downtown announced it secured another $500 million in credit from Bank of America — on top of its previous $200 million credit facility — to finance advances.
“We have been earnestly and aggressively putting that money to work,” Stephenson says, by offering competitive advances without forcing independent creators to give up any rights. As a result, “We think we’re growing at nearly twice the rate of the rest of the industry,” she says.
That growth is one of Downtown’s draws. The combined market share held by independent distribution and music companies — i.e. non-major labels and self-releasing artists — rose to 36.7% in 2023, up from 28.6% in 2015, according to MIDiA Research. As a result, the majors have made acquisitions and investments to defend their market share. Downtown’s scale and position of dominance in this segment made it an attractive way for UMG to grow.
However, Downtown’s growth has also led to customer complaints of long wait times at Songtrust and concerns that the platform is becoming more exclusive. Stephenson says there are no plans to restrict who can sign up for Songtrust, adding that over the past year, Songtrust has cut the average response time to customer complaints from 33 days to 17 hours.
Stephenson, 35, has spent more than a decade at Downtown and previously served as Downtown Music vp of business operations, and she says roughly 70% of the managers in her division have similarly long tenures.
That experience has helped with client retention and led to facilitating opportunities. This past summer, “Parade” by French composer Victor le Masne, a Downtown client, became the official theme song for the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games. This holiday season, the team landed Griff’s cover of the Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory classic “Pure Imagination” in Target’s Christmas campaign.
“We are the only player doing this at scale for indie songwriters globally,” Stephenson says. “I think our future is bright.”
A version of this story appears in the Dec. 14, 2024, issue of Billboard.
Universal Music Group’s Virgin Music Group said on Monday it agreed to buy Downtown Music Holdings for $775 million cash in a deal that will bolster the world’s largest music company’s slice of the independent music segment. Founded in 2007 in New York, Downtown Music Holdings is the parent company of the direct-to-creator distributor CD Baby, […]
Panamanian singer-songwriter Rubén Blades has signed a global partnership with Virgin Music Group, Billboard has learned. The indie artist, who releases music under his own label Rubén Blades Production, was previously with AWAL. This new deal with Virgin sets him up for the “next chapter in his legendary career,” states a press release. One of […]
Virgin Music Group has announced the acquisition of Outdustry, a leader in artist and label services and rights management across China, India, and other high-growth markets.
The acquisition, disclosed on Wednesday, underscores Virgin’s commitment to expanding its influence in some of the most dynamic music regions globally. Outdustry will continue its established operations in marketing, music publishing, and label services under the Outdustry brand, while founder Ed Peto will join Virgin Music Group as senior vice president of international strategy.
Peto, based in London, will oversee Virgin’s strategic direction in China, India, and other fast-growing regions, reporting directly to Virgin Music Group co-CEOs JT Myers and Nat Pastor. He’ll collaborate closely with Michael Roe, managing director of Virgin’s operations in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.
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“After more than fifteen years working in China, India, and other territories, Ed and his team have built unparalleled experience and relationships in some of the world’s most important growth markets,” said Myers. “Ed will be a key player as we chart our global expansion plans. We’re happy to have him and his team onboard for this exciting next step in the evolution of Virgin Music Group.”
Peto stated, “Bringing everything we’ve built at Outdustry into Virgin Music Group represents an enormous opportunity to expand our vision globally. It’s never been a more exciting time to be working in music, and I’m looking forward to working closely with the incredible team that Nat and JT have assembled to create more opportunities for independent music entrepreneurs and artists around the world.”
With a well-established footprint in Asia, Outdustry operates as a multifaceted company that includes Outdustry Songs, a publishing arm that has landed numerous hits with leading Chinese artists such as Bibi Zhou, Kun, Jolin Tsai, Chris Lee, Lu Han, Sunnee, Jane Zhang, and Pharaoh. Outdustry Records, the company’s label division, is committed to spotlighting emerging talent in the region. Both Outdustry Songs and Outdustry Records will continue to work in partnership with Universal Music Publishing Group and Virgin Music Group, respectively.
Founded in Beijing in 2008, Outdustry has been pivotal in facilitating international success for artists like Adele, Dua Lipa, Lauv, and Major Lazer in the Chinese and Indian markets. The company has also been instrumental in landmark market entries for indie heavyweights like Beggars Group and Merlin and has consulted for global brands including Spotify, PRS, and Believe in Greater China.
Mexican-American singer-songwriter Jacqie Rivera has signed a global deal with Virgin Music Group, Billboard can announce exclusively today (Aug. 29). Her first single under this new partnership, “Si Pasa Una Mosca,” will be released on Friday.
Daughter of the late “Diva de la Banda” Jenni Rivera and sister of fellow singer Chiquis, Jacqie Rivera is best known for her participation in reality shows about her family like The Riveras and I Love Jenni. In 2018, she released a version of a classic love song in Spanish, “Qué Ganas De No Verte Nunca Más,” which her mother had previously recorded, and between 2020 and 2021 she put out a series of singles independently, including “La Razón,” “When It Hurts,” “Existo Yo” and “Hurt.”
This is her first record deal and will include “multiple albums,” her publicist tells Billboard.
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“Being a part of the Virgin team is an answered prayer,” Rivera said in a press release. “It feels so good to have people on your side that believe in your dreams. This is just the beginning for us. Thank you Virgin for being part of my history.”“Everyone at Virgin is so happy to partner with Jacqie on this next phase of her career,” added Victor Gonzalez, President of Latin America and Iberian Peninsula, Virgin Music Group. “Jacqie has made an incredible album, and we can’t wait to share it with the world.”
No further details about the deal were provided.
As for her first single under the label, “Si Pasa Una Mosca” (which means “If a fly passes by”) was written by Salvador Aponte and Leslie Laraim, and produced by Carlos Alvarez. According to the release, the song combines melancholic sounds with a moving narrative that explores the pain and resignation of a relationship that is coming to an end.
“The first time I heard the song, I was driving my car and immediately felt a lump in my throat and started to cry,” Rivera said. “The lyrics are powerful, and I felt connected to them.”Jacqie Rivera is the executor of her mother’s estate, whose latest posthumous releases have been under Sony Music Latin.
Cindy James has been promoted to general manager of Virgin Music Group‘s operations in North America, the company announced on Tuesday (April 16). The former executive of the week — and regular entry on Billboard’s Indie Power Players lists — joined the UMG-owned indie music distributor and label services company in 2019 as head of […]
Virgin Music Group has acquired Saban Music Latin, it was announced on Thursday (Jan. 4). The deal comes five years after entertainment mogul Haim Saban invested $500 million to launch Saban Music Group, and two years after the music company launched its Latino division.
Under the terms of the transaction, Virgin Music — a division of Universal Music Group — will acquire Saban Music Latin’s catalog, which includes such artists as Jon Z, Reykon and German Montero. It will also release future albums by Saban Music Latin artists.
Saban Music Latin’s roster includes emerging L.A.-based pop artist Loyal Lobos, Puerto Rican singer-songwriter Chesca — who has scored two No. 1 songs on Billboard‘s Latin Airplay chart (“Súbelo” and “Te Quiero Baby”) — and rapper-producer YoGambii.
Saban Music Group launched in 2019 as a music company with a Latin focus and with veteran music executive Gustavo Lopez as CEO. Lopez was the longtime GM and executive vp Universal Music Latin, where he launched Latin urban label Machete Music, home to artists like Wisin & Yandel and Don Omar, and also ran Universal Music Latin Entertainment’s regional Mexican labels, Fonovisa and Disa. After leaving UMLE in 2017, he launched indie music company Talento Uno, which was acquired by Saban.
In 2020, Saban Music Group entered into an exclusive global administration agreement with Universal Music Publishing Group — and in February 2022, it announced it was launching a Latin division with Alejandro Reglero in the role of executive vp/GM, reporting to Lopez.
The acquisition follows Virgin Music Group’s recent partnerships with other Latin labels, including DEL Records, the West Coast-based independent label home to Latin music’s biggest song of 2023, “Ella Baila Sola” by Eslabon Armado and Peso Pluma. In November, Virgin Music also announced a worldwide agreement with Pepe Aguilar‘s two regional Mexican labels, Machin and Equinoccio Records.
The Virgin Music Group roster already includes such Latin stars as Espinoza Paz, Sech, Grupo Firme, Tainy and Angela Aguilar.
Mexican music star Espinoza Paz has signed a global deal with Virgin Music Group, Billboard has learned. Born Isidro Chávez Espinoza in Sinaloa, Mexico, the prolific singer-songwriter is known for his deep and emotional songs penned for other artists – such as Jenni Rivera and Banda MS – and for himself. Explore Explore See […]