UMG Receives Statement of Objections from the European Commission

The European Commission sent a Statement of Objections to Universal Music Group over its $775 million acquisition of Downtown Music Holdings. Issued on Monday, November 24th, 2025, the Statement of Objections (SO) represents an escalation in the EC’s investigation of the transaction, announced by UMG’s Virgin Records Music Group in December 2024. The EC was preparing to issue a ‘formal warning’ over the proposed deal.

On its press release on Monday, the EC said that it conducted a “wide-ranging investigation to understand the affected markets and the potential impact of the transaction.” The investigation included “analyzing internal documents provided by the parties and gathering views and data from competitors and customers.”

The press release seems to focus on UMG’s potential access to data that has been “stored and processed” by the Downtown’s Curve platform.

As stated by the EC’s release, “As a result of this in-depth investigation, the Commission is concerned that UMG may have the ability and incentive to gain access to commercially sensitive data that is stored and processed by Downtown’s Curve and that such information advantage for UMG would hamper rival labels’ ability and incentive to compete with UMG.”

“A statement of objections is a normal step in the regulatory process in which the European Commission provides details on its concerns,” said a UMG spokesperson to MBW on Monday. “We look forward to continuing to work constructively with the commission toward a successful conclusion of this process.”

Next they added, “This deal is about offering independent music entrepreneurs access to world-class tools and support to help them succeed. We look forward to continuing to work constructively with the Commission toward a successful conclusion of this process.”

The EC has until February 2026 to reach a final decision on the Phase II investigation into the deal. “The Commission is concerned that UMG may have the ability and incentive to gain access to commercially sensitive data that is stored and processed by Downtown’s Curve,” stated the European Commission.

The deal has attracted intense opposition from independent music organizations. Back in July, over two hundred people signed a letter objecting to the acquisition, along with twenty employees from the Secretly Group and Beggars Group companies. A “100 Voices” campaign had launched in October with testimonies from indie representatives urging the EC to block the deal.

In October, Music Business Worldwide published a series of views from leaders in the global independent music distribution space along the topic of Universal’s $775 million Downtown’s Curve takeover.