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Exceleration Music has entered into an agreement to acquire iconic UK-headquartered independent music company Cooking Vinyl, which it describes as “one of the UK’s most successful and long-standing music companies”.

Founded in 1986, Cooking Vinyl is home to a roster of artists that includes Shed Seven, Suzanne Vega, Passenger, The Prodigy, The Cranberries, Billy Bragg, The Darkness, Deacon Blue, 47 Soul, Roger Waters and The Jesus and Mary Chain.

Exceleration said on Monday (June 9) that Cooking Vinyl will continue to operate independently, led by Managing Director Rob Collins and his team.

Founder Martin Goldschmidt will remain in his current capacity as Chairman.

US-headquartered Exceleration was launched by five indie sector executives in January 2021, backed by what it described as “substantial investment capital”.

The music venture is still led by its group of original founders, including Glen Barros (former CEO of Concord Music Group), Dave Hansen (Executive Chairman of Merlin and former GM of Epitaph), Charles Caldas (former CEO of Merlin), Amy Dietz (former GM of Ingrooves) and John Burk (Grammy-winning producer and former President of Concord Records).

To date, Exceleration has acquired or formed “strategic relationships” with independents including +1 Records, Alligator, Azadi, Bloodshot, Candid, Down The Road, Heroic, Kill Rock Stars, Mack Avenue, Mom+Pop, Redeye Worldwide, SideOneDummy, The Ray Charles Foundation/ Tangerine Records and Yep Roc Records.

Most recently, Exceleration said that the acquisition of Cooking Vinyl brings together “two influential forces in the independent music sector.”

The deal arrives less than two years after Exceleration acquired independent digital and physical distribution/services company Redeye.

According to the companies, Cooking Vinyl will integrate into Redeye’s distribution platform and gain access to Exceleration’s global infrastructure, “significantly expanding its growth opportunities worldwide”.

Exceleration also said it will tap into Cooking Vinyl’s “renowned artist marketing expertise,” while crediting Cooking Vinyl as “the originator of artist services with its signing of Billy Bragg in 1993, and a proven worldwide leader in the field”.

Cooking Vinyl Publishing UK, Cooking Vinyl Publishing Australia and Motus Music are not included within the acquisition.

The acquisition comes during what Exceleration called “one of the most successful and dynamic periods” in Cooking Vinyl’s nearly four-decade history. In 2024, the company achieved two No.1 UK albums for the same artist with Shed Seven.

Previous No.1 albums for Cooking Vinyl include releases by Passenger and The Prodigy. Most recently The Darkness debuted at No.2 in the UK charts with their album Dreams on Toast.

“At Cooking Vinyl, we’ve worked tirelessly to help our artists achieve both artistic and commercial success — without ever compromising their uniqueness or creative control. This deal enhances that mission.”

Rob Collins, Cooking Vinyl

Commenting on the deal, Collins said: “At Cooking Vinyl, we’ve worked tirelessly to help our artists achieve both artistic and commercial success — without ever compromising their uniqueness or creative control.

“This deal enhances that mission. Our artists will still benefit from our close-knit, highly personalised team that combines deep industry expertise with old-fashioned hard graft.

“But now, with the expanded US capabilities, enhanced resources, and the broader global reach of the Exceleration structure, we’re able to offer even stronger support to our current and future roster. I look forward to working with their team to spearhead this next phase for Cooking Vinyl!”

“I have known and admired Redeye and key members of the Exceleration partners since 1988 and am very pleased that our future will be with people who understand and appreciate who we are, and where we belong.”

Martin Goldschmidt

Added Goldschmidt: “I have been running an independent label for over 40 years. This deal takes the label to the next level and offers far greater opportunities for our team and our artists.

“The cultures and synergies between our companies are immense. Creating a worldwide proposition is the obvious one but more important to me are the shared values of commitment to independence and caring about artists and our team.

“I have known and admired Redeye and key members of the Exceleration partners since 1988 and am very pleased that our future will be with people who understand and appreciate who we are, and where we belong. I look forward to helping guide Rob and his team to realise Cooking Vinyl’s full potential in my role as Chairman for many years to come.”

“The addition of Cooking Vinyl, and their impressive team, to the Exceleration system represents a significant step forward in our mission to invest in market-leading independents globally.”

Glen Barros, Exceleration

Glen Barros, Founding Partner of Exceleration, said: “The addition of Cooking Vinyl, and their impressive team, to the Exceleration system represents a significant step forward in our mission to invest in market-leading independents globally.

“Cooking Vinyl not only brings a set of remarkable artists into our orbit, but their team adds an important piece to the puzzle for Exceleration’s Artist and Label Services capabilities, including enhancing Redeye Distribution outside of the US.  Their history of chart and commercial success aligns perfectly with our long-term vision.”

Cooking Vinyl is claimed to “consistently [have] been at the forefront of the digital revolution and evolution”.

In 2005 the label set up its own online distribution company, Uploader, which was sold to the Independent Online Distribution Alliance (IODA). After selling its in-house distribution company, Uploader, to the Independent Online Distribution Alliance (IODA), Cooking Vinyl became a stakeholder in another independent distribution and services company in Essential Music & Marketing.

Essential Music was founded in 2003, working with label partners including FatCat, Cherry Red, Lojinx, Nettwerk, Concord Music Group, BMG, Thirty Tigers, Snapper, Fierce Panda and Full Time Hobby – as well as Cooking Vinyl itself.

Essential Music was acquired by Sony Red in 2016, later forming the basis for the Sony Music‘s The Orchard in the UK market.

Cooking Vinyl remained 100% independent following the Essential Music sale.Music Business WorldwideMusic Business Worldwide

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Your guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the world

Tom Wolfe coined the term “masters of the universe” as an ironic description of Wall Street traders. Elon Musk takes the idea literally. He hopes to colonise Mars.

But Musk has come down to earth with a bump. After falling out with Donald Trump, the world’s richest man has discovered that he is not even the master of Washington — let alone the universe.

Musk’s downfall is part of a global pattern. Decades of globalisation have created vastly rich oligarchs all over the world. But when money power and political power clash, there is only one way to bet. Politics always comes out on top.

In countries as different as Russia, China, Saudi Arabia — and now the US — oligarchs who have developed independent political ambitions have been forcibly reminded where the real power lies.

The triumph of politics over money might come as a surprise to both Marxists and overconfident capitalists — who believe that politicians will always dance to the tune of the super-rich.

But, as Mao observed, power flows from the barrel of the gun. Control of the organs of the state — the army, state prosecutors, tax authorities — still ultimately counts for more than billions in the bank.

Of course, politicians do need money, particularly on the way up. Elections are expensive and so are the clientelist politics of an authoritarian state. Musk’s financial backing helped Trump win the 2024 presidential election.

Vladimir Putin’s rise to the apex of power in Russia was facilitated by some of the country’s richest men — who hoped that he would be the guardian of the vast fortunes they had made in the 1990s. But, once he was firmly installed in the Kremlin, Putin showed the oligarchs who was boss. When Mikhail Khodorkovsky, then Russia’s richest man, started to become an independent political force, Putin had him arrested. Khodorkovsky served 10 years in prison. Boris Berezovsky, who had also made a vast fortune in the Yeltsin years, was forced into exile and died in mysterious circumstances.

Jack Ma, then China’s richest man, got off comparatively lightly. President Xi Jinping evidently saw Ma’s high profile and sometimes outspoken views as a challenge. After Ma gave a speech in 2020 that criticised financial regulators, the share offering of his Ant Group was suspended and Ma all but disappeared from public view. The Chinese Communist party had put the country’s most prominent capitalist in his place.

Ma stayed out of jail and has begun to make public appearances again. But Jimmy Lai, a Hong Kong media tycoon who backed the territory’s pro-democracy movement, is currently serving a long prison sentence.

In Saudi Arabia, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, a man much admired by Trump, also demonstrated that he can bring the richest men in his kingdom to heel. He locked dozens of wealthy businessmen up in the Ritz-Carlton in Riyadh in 2017 — ostensibly in an anti-corruption purge. Among them was Prince Waleed bin Talal, the kingdom’s most famous investor. The episode sent a message of ruthless power that has never been forgotten.

The best way for a billionaire to insulate themself from the whims of a country’s leader is to become the leader. That was the route followed by the late Silvio Berlusconi, a controversial tycoon who founded his own political party and served three terms as prime minister of Italy. Bidzina Ivanishvili, a billionaire who became prime minister of Georgia, followed a similar route. Trump himself used his wealth to fund his entry into politics

But few oligarchs make the transition. And those who operate on the fringes need to tread carefully. To retain their wealth and liberty they must understand the boundaries. In India, the fabulously wealthy Ambani family retain close ties to Narendra Modi, the country’s prime minister. But they have never sought to challenge his leadership.

Carlos Slim, Mexico’s richest man, has stayed close to a succession of Mexican presidents, while rarely expressing political opinions. Slim’s studied neutrality has enabled him to retain influence regardless of the administration in power. He even worked with the leftist president Andrés Manuel López Obrador, collaborating on major infrastructure projects.

Many Americans would recoil at the idea that the relationship between money and power in their country can be compared with how things are done in China, Russia, Saudi Arabia or Mexico.

After all, the US is a long-standing democracy with well-established property rights. The idea that the president could use the law to pursue a vendetta against the country’s richest man still sounds a bit shocking. But the president has already said that Musk could lose federal contracts and warned him of “very serious consequences” if he backs the Democrats.

Some of Trump’s most zealous followers want to go much further. Steve Bannon has suggested nationalising Musk’s SpaceX company, which plays a crucial role in federal space programmes. He has also urged Trump to investigate Musk’s immigration status with a view to deporting him.

Expropriation? Exile? It all sounds very un-American. But this is Trump’s America. Never say never.

gideon.rachman@ft.com