[PIAS] Founders explain why they sold 49% of their company to UMG: “The fronts in our industry have been redrawn.”

Independent music giant [PIAS] announced on Wednesday (November 30) that Universal Music Group has taken a minority stake in the company.

The deal saw UMG take a 49% stake in the [PIAS] Group for an undisclosed sum, following the formation of a strategic global alliance between the two companies in June 2021.

In a letter to [PIAS]’s Partners on Tuesday (November 29), a day before the deal was announced, the indie company’s founders, Kenny Gates and Michel Lambot, outlined the background and reasons behind their decision to close the deal with UMG.

In the note MBW has now received, Gates and Lambot wrote that they did “established a productive and mutually trusting working relationship with UMG” oin the last 18 months since they formed their global alliance in June last year.

UMG has “shown us clearly that they understand and appreciate the importance of [PIAS] in the marketplace as an autonomous global music company serving independent labels and artists,” added Gates and Lambot.

“With this in mind, we recently approached UMG to make an investment [PIAS] that would allow us to retain majority control of the company.”

The duo said they felt it was “a reasonable option in the context of an increasingly challenging economy and an uncertain geopolitical environment.”

“We recently approached UMG to make an investment [PIAS] this would allow us to retain majority control of the company. We felt this was a viable option in the context of an increasingly challenging economy and an uncertain geopolitical environment.”

Kenny Gates and Michel Lambot, [PIAS]

Keep commenting on the reasons for the deal, [PIAS]”We are also aware that the fronts have been redrawn in our industry,” write the founders of .

They continued, “Today we compete with tech and financial giants who don’t value the cultural significance of the artists and labels we work so hard for, but see music only as an ‘asset class’ to be ruthlessly exploited a speedy return,” they added in their letter.

According to the press release issued on Wednesday (November 30), as per their new agreement, “[PIAS] will remain fully independent and its founders, Kenny Gates and Michel Lambot, will retain majority control of the company.”

The publication confirmed that “UMG will have no seats on the company’s board of directors.”

You can read her letter [PIAS]’s full-length partner below.

dear partner,

Tomorrow morning we will announce that Universal Music Group has invested in a minority stake in [PIAS] Group.

We wanted to make sure that you, as our partner, were informed before the announcement went live. We also wanted to take this opportunity to share some background and arguments for our decision to include UMG as a minority shareholder.

As you were informed last June, we initially agreed a strategic partnership with UMG which gave us access to finance and allowed UMG to use our international distribution network for part of their own repertoire.

Over the past 18 months we have developed a productive and mutually trusting working relationship with UMG which has clearly shown us that they understand and value the importance of [PIAS] on the market as an autonomous global music company serving independent labels and artists.

With that in mind, we recently approached UMG to make an investment [PIAS] this would allow us to retain majority control of the company. We thought this was a reasonable option in the context of an increasingly challenging economy and an uncertain geopolitical environment.

We are also aware that the fronts in our industry have been redrawn. Today we compete with tech and financial giants who don’t value the cultural significance of the artists and labels we work so hard for, but only see music as an “asset class” to be ruthlessly exploited in exchange for a quick return on investment.

We are therefore pleased to confirm that UMG are now our partners and investors and that [PIAS] will remain fully independent, with Kenny and Michel retaining majority control of the company.

In addition, it is important to clarify that the UMG has no seats in the [PIAS] Blackboard.

This investment by UMG means we can continue to expand our offering and offer our partners an even better service in what is still a challenging, aggressive and acquisitive market. As one of the few remaining, globally operating and privately held music companies in this industry, we strive to provide independent labels and artists with the best possible service through our unrivaled international network, led by passionate and experienced music lovers.

We will continue to strive to be a trusted and valued partner to you and all the other great labels, artists and their managers that we are privileged to work with through our two distribution companies [Integral] and the [PIAS] label group.

Nothing changes – business as usual remains the same [PIAS].

If you have any questions about this announcement or our plans for the foreseeable future, please do not hesitate to contact us.

We would like to thank you very much for your trust and look forward to continuing our long-standing partnership.

Kenny, Michel and the [PIAS] Leadership team music business worldwide