The European Commission is likely to clear the $775 million acquisition of Downtown Music Holdings by Universal Music Group after UMG offered remedies, according to a report from Reuters, citing "people with direct knowledge of the matter." Reuters said the Commission's competition division "signaled acceptance" of UMG's offer to sell royalty services platform Curve to address the Commission's concerns. According to the report, regulators have not demanded further concessions. The deadline for t...

BMG has named Jasper Niebuhr as the company's new Managing Director, GSA, effective February 1, 2026. Niebuhr will lead BMG's integrated recorded music and music publishing operations across Germany, Switzerland, and Austria.  Based in Berlin, he reports to Alistair Norbury, President, UK, APAC & EU. In his new role, Niebuhr will focus on "accelerating BMG's strategic objectives in the critical GSA market, the company's third largest globally after the US and UK." Niebuhr joins BMG with over...

Pipeline, a new financing platform, has launched with over $200 million in capital raised and a focus on helping independent music companies to "unlock the value of their intellectual property, in order to drive growth and scale." The company — which has offices in London, Los Angeles and New York — was founded by global media and IP-focused investment firm Jamen Capital, which has experience across music, technology, and rights-based businesses. The platform aims to quickly become "the largest ...