MBW Views is a series of op/eds from eminent music industry people… with something to say. The following MBW op/ed comes from Simon Wills, Managing Director of UK-headquartered Absolute Label Services. Here, he comments on the current state of the independent sector and looks to the future of its positioning in the global music industry…
MBW’s Tim Ingham caused a bit of a stir in indie-land at the end of April in his analysis of Universal’s acquisition of Downtown (and, as a result, digital distribution keystone FUGA).
In case you missed it, in a Founder’s Letter to subscribers on April 17, he mapped out exactly why he felt that the deal will ultimately be waved through by regulators, largely based on two notions: (a) that the acquisition would not trouble monopoly thresholds; and (b) that, as far as FUGA is concerned, there are plenty of sizable independent alternatives.
In isolation, these points may well be true.
However, I would suggest that the defensive sentiment that the potential UMG/Downtown deal has generated among indie operators does not necessarily stem from a tipping of the balance in market share or fears of a competitive cliff edge.
Instead, it’s driven by a broader emerging picture: a corporate creep that sees major companies gaining more control across multiple verticals.
Not only does this mean an erosion of the independent music market (however slight with each new step), it also means a weakening of the sector at negotiating tables across the industry and an increase in overall influence for the majors.
With that wider lens, UMG engulfing Downtown can be seen as the latest trade in the quiet dismantling of the independent scaffolding.
It’s broadly happening on three fronts where indies need to regain a united foothold: distribution, licensing and streaming deals.
Streaming 2.0 and the Future of Fair Payouts
As majors negotiate new artist-centric payout structures under “Streaming 2.0”, there is a risk that these changes will overwhelmingly favour established, high-stream artists — most of whom are signed to majors. This shift could make it even harder for independent artists to generate sustainable income from streaming.
If indies don’t come together to fight for fairer payout models, we risk being squeezed out of the streaming economy.
The independent sector must engage in these conversations and push for models that reward discovery, innovation, and artist development rather than reinforcing the dominance of major label catalogues.
The TikTok Wake-Up Call
Developments surrounding TikTok towards the end of last year also highlight the need for a unified indie front. The failure of independent distributors and rights holders to negotiate effectively with TikTok demonstrated the vulnerability of a fragmented indie sector.
Indie trade bodies must regain their strength and influence to prevent similar situations from occurring in the future.
The independent community needs to move beyond just representation and towards real, collective action that ensures we are treated as a powerful and valuable sector in our own right.
Protecting Our Infrastructure
Then we come back to distribution. Sony owns AWAL and The Orchard, Warner has ADA, and Universal has Virgin and will probably soon own FUGA.
These aren’t just acquisitions; they’re strategic moves into the indie ecosystem. Many independent labels rely on these services, which means that the majors have significant control over distribution.
When majors own the distribution channels, they also control how and when music reaches audiences, and the data that is returned. Are indie labels truly independent if their route to market depends on major-owned platforms? If you think that majors are going to offer up their data, analysis, bandwidth and infrastructure to third-party independent partners, you’re going to be disappointed.
In fact, as things stand, the reverse is happening: independent companies are allowing their data to be harvested by big corporations with every major services deal they sign.
At least Sony Music isn’t hiding the fact. In mid-June, Rob Stringer told investors that the company represents tens of thousands of both independent labels and artists via The Orchard and AWAL respectively, and that it uses the indie data that comes with that to inform its deals, acquisitions and strategic decisions.
So what’s next?
On May 1, Tim Ingham followed his contentious UMG/Downtown regulatory crystal ball gaze with an arguably bigger rattle of the cage.
In another MBW Founder’s Letter, he pointed a finger at the independent community for complaining about corporate consolidation after the fact – and not swooping to secure Downtown for the indie sector when it had the chance.
On that, I have to say, he’s dead right.
Deciding exactly whose responsibility it might be to make hero acquisitions on behalf of independents globally is up for debate. [Editor note: Tim’s letter suggested Merlin could have made a bid.]
But one thing’s for sure: lip service is no longer enough if we want to secure the future of our sector.
Now, debate around UMG’s Downtown acquisition has reached the ‘war of words’ stage. Indie bodies and leading figures had their say and, just this past week, Virgin and Downtown bosses fired back in no uncertain terms.
But don’t get distracted; the noisy rhetoric hides the real issue.
When we urge business-owners, rights-holders and entrepreneurs to ‘Stay indie!’, what we’re actually doing is asking them to make a business choice: Forgo the services and infrastructure offered by the majors to preserve the independent community.
It may be incredibly unfashionable to say so, but I think that’s an unreasonable ask.
Why should any owner make a business decision based on an altruistic ideal alone? What are they getting in return by remaining independent besides a warm fuzzy feeling?
As a sector, we have to be able to provide something competitive and, actually, something better than the majors if we are going to stop independents from signing major deals.
Absolute Label Services embodies that spirit of independence. For over 25 years, we’ve championed artists and labels without the pressure of shareholder expectations. Our focus is on music, not margins. Many independents will proudly espouse similar qualities and philosophies – but it’s all for nought if we ultimately rely on major infrastructure for data and distribution.
Independent music companies as a collective need to concentrate on not only protecting our infrastructure and resources but also building upon them to make sure we have access to tools that are truly best in class.
Last month, Absolute unveiled Anthology – a holistic data, analysis, distribution and business management platform that we firmly believe rivals that of the majors and, based on what early adopters have told us, surpasses them in many ways.
Our clients have quietly benefitted from Anthology in-house at Absolute since the start of 2025. Later this year, we will be releasing the software as an agnostic service for all independent businesses and rights-holders.
We’re doing so because every time an independent entity inks a major distribution deal; the indie ecosystem shrinks. We are confident that the technology we have developed in Anthology will allow independent labels and artists globally to operate with the same level of sophistication as majors without giving up control of their rights.
As members of the independent community, we need to think strategically – not just about our own businesses, not just about our clients, but also about the health and longevity of the independent music sector. But we can only do that if we have the tools and infrastructure that enable real choice.
This is a crossroads. The majors are slowly reshaping the dynamic of the global music industry across multiple fronts.
We hope that Anthology will give more independents the tangible reason they need to stay independent, therefore preserving what we have as a creative, risk-taking, dynamic sector and building something even greater.Music Business Worldwide
