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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 […]
Virgin Music Group announced the members of its global leadership team on Thursday (Oct. 19).
The executives’ responsibilities are split across five regions. Jacqueline Saturn will serve as president of Virgin Music Group North America/executive vp of global artist relations; Thomas Lorain and Nick Roden will be co-presidents in Europe; and Victor Gonzales has been named president in Latin America and the Iberian Peninsula, with Cris Garcia Falcão working as MD of label and artist strategy/GM of Virgin Music Group Latin.
In Australia and New Zealand, Nathan McLay will assume the role of MD — working with Tim Janes as MD of global marketing for Virgin Music Group Australia — and Michael Roe will take the position of MD in Africa, Middle East and Asia (AMEA).
“It is an enormously exciting time to be working in the independent sector of our business,” JT Myers, co-CEO of Virgin Music Group, said in a statement. “In today’s market,” he added, “visionary music entrepreneurs can be successful on a global scale if they have the right team and infrastructure to empower them.”
In addition to announcing regional leaders, Virgin named Jay Blomquist as chief technology officer, Jeremy Kramer as execugtive vp of global marketing, Joy Larocca as executive vp/CFO, Liz Morentin as senior vp of global communications and brand strategy, Matt Sawin as head of global product strategy and operations, Nina Rabe-Cairns as head of global growth strategy and Zack Gershen as executive vp of global commercial and digital strategy.
The appointments are the latest step in a consolidation process for Universal Music Group’s various artist services outfits. In September 2022, the company lumped together Virgin Music Label and Artist Services, Ingrooves Music Group and the newly acquired mtheory Artist Partnerships into a new entity, Virgin Music Group — of which mtheory’s founders, Myers and Nat Pastor, were appointed co-CEOs.
“mtheory was founded on the idea that we could transform the music industry by offering better, more aligned partnerships with artists,” Myers said last year. “By bringing these incredible global teams and resources together, we have the opportunity to turbo-charge that vision, and deliver even more value to artists, labels and music entrepreneurs.”
Warner Music previously combined its Independent Label Group and Alternative Distribution Alliance (ADA) under one roof in 2012. Sony Music merged The Orchard and RED under the Orchard brand in 2017.
Universal Music Group (UMG) has expanded its presence in the fast-growing Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region with the acquisition of United Arab Emirates-based music company Chabaka, it was announced Wednesday (Aug. 30). Founded in 2013 by brothers Ala’a and Tarek Makki, Chabaka provides digital distribution, marketing, publishing and label services and has deals […]
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