Universal buys out [PIAS] founders

Universal Music has taken full ownership of the [PIAS] group, buying out its founders Kenny Gates and Michel Lambot in a deal that will also see the [PIAS] label services business [Integral] become part of the Virgin Music Group, the major’s artist and label services division. 

Gates, who will remain as CEO of [PIAS] and also sit on the Virgin Music board, says the decision to sell the remaining shares in his company to Universal is “a pragmatic one that will allow us to offer a truly global distribution and services platform to the independent music community”. 

“Our existing leadership team”, he adds, “will continue to steer our day-to-day work and nothing will change culturally or commercially for our existing clients and partners; we will still maintain the same values that we have lived by since our launch over 40 years ago”. 

The partnership between Universal and [PIAS], which began with a strategic alliance in 2021, has been closely followed by the indie label community. [PIAS] has been a key player in the independent sector for decades, as both a label owner and a distributor, and has also been an active participant in various indie label trade organisations. 

Acquisitions like this also increase the market share of the major record companies, with revenues generated by labels distributed via the services divisions of the majors usually included in the official market share figures. Market share stats have value beyond bragging rights as they can factor into digital deal negotiations, especially in relation to new platforms and business models. 

Given [PIAS] had long been proud of its indie status, Gates admitted when the Universal alliance was first announced in 2021 that it was a “somewhat unconventional, strategic agreement”, but he added that it would allow the company to maximise “the many opportunities we know are available” while “not compromising our independence whatsoever”.

The following year it was announced that Universal had bought a 49% stake in [PIAS]. As that deal was announced, [PIAS] was keen to stress that it would “remain fully independent and its founders Kenny Gates and Michel Lambot will retain majority control of the company - Universal Music Group will have no seats on the company's board”.

The latest deal obviously sees Universal and [PIAS] more closely aligned, especially on the services side, though the statement announcing that deal stresses that The [PIAS] Label Group “will remain completely autonomous”. That group includes the labels Play It Again Sam, harmonia mundi, Demain, Spinefarm and Source.

Universal brought together its various services and distribution businesses, including Ingrooves and Mtheory Artist Partnerships, under the Virgin Music Group banner in September 2022. With [Integral] now “joining forces” with that division, “the combined teams will provide independent entrepreneurs with world class services and access to a bespoke, stand-alone international distribution network”, we are told. 

Commenting on the new deal, Lambot says the 2021 alliance was “always going to be a learning experience”, adding that he did initially have concerns about partnering with the major. 

He was wrong to be concerned, though, he reveals. “Our two companies have lots in common including teams that share a real passion for music and our relationship to date has been fruitful, convivial and everything we hoped it would it be”.

The new phase in that partnership, with [PIAS] becoming a full subsidiary of Universal, “will see us working even closer”, Lambot admits, but promises, he says, “to be an exciting new era for [PIAS], our staff, our partners and the artists we represent”. 

On the Universal side, big cheese Lucian Grainge says, “I’ve known Kenny and Michel for decades, beginning in the 80s when we were all signing bands from emerging scenes in Europe. Since that time, Kenny and Michel have built [PIAS] into a company that stands for authenticity and the best in independent music. And it is those qualities that are not only important to me personally but that also make [PIAS] a perfect fit for UMG’s entrepreneurial and creative culture”.