Universal Music Group (UMG) has closed the $775 million acquisition of Downtown Music Holdings LLC, through its division Virgin Music Group (VMG). The completion of the deal follows the green light given to the transaction by the European Commission on February 13, 14 months after the deal was initially announced. Downtown Founder Justin Kalifowitz is stepping away from the company he launched in 2007 (see Kalifowitz final message to his team below). Downtown Chairman Andrew Bergman will transit...

Concord Music Publishing has signed German filmmaker and composer Tom Tykwer to an exclusive global publishing agreement in a deal covering his future musical works. Tykwer is co-founder and CEO of the Berlin-based production company X-Filme Creative Pool. Under the agreement, Concord Music Publishing will represent and develop Tykwer's global catalogue and future compositions, supporting his work across multiple sectors of the company's international network, including the classical sector thr...

broke records, the independent label founded by Andre Benz and Brandon De Oliveira under Create Music Group, have formed a joint venture with Innovo Management and content creator Jillian Webber to launch wbbr., a new record label designed "to bridge the gap between music and the creator economy." wbbr. launches with "a focus on long-term artist development, cultural fluency, and creator-driven storytelling, leveraging Innovo’s deep creator ties and social media content development, Webber’s tra...