Brooklyn-born independent record label, Partisan Records, has formed a global distribution partnership with Universal Music Group‘s Virgin Music Group.
Under the new deal, Partisan Records’ repertoire will be distributed globally via Virgin Music Group, and the companies will also be collaborating on what they call “a dynamic approach to global marketing”.
Partisan is home to artists such as IDLES, Blondshell, PJ Harvey, Cigarettes After Sex, Laura Marling, Ezra Collective, and more.
Commenting on the deal, Zena White, Partisan COO, said: “Under JT Myers and Nat Pastor, the new Virgin Music Group is the obvious partner for Partisan’s next chapter.
“Much more than a distributor, they provide a dynamic environment, fueled by an entrepreneurial spirit, focused on achieving the highest caliber of results for our artists.”
“The combination of the Virgin and [Integral] teams allows for Partisan to marry the best of the [PIAS] and [Integral] teams that helped get us here.”
Zena White
Added White: “The combination of the Virgin and [Integral] teams allows for Partisan to marry the best of the [PIAS] and [Integral] teams that helped get us here with the extra resources of Virgin required to meet our ambition to be the most trusted music company for artists of all genres, worldwide.”
Universal Music Group fully acquired [PIAS] in a transaction announced last month.
UMG acquired two core business divisions within the [PIAS] Group:
Label services division [Integral], which provides physical and digital distribution services to independent labels;
The [PIAS] Label Group, home to the company’s own and associated record labels, including Play It Again Sam, harmonia mundi, Demain, Spinefarm, Source and partner labels such ATO, Heavenly, Mute, and Transgressive.
Subsequent to the acquisition, [Integral] merged with UMG’s Virgin Music Group.
Partisan has earned numerous Grammy nominations, most recently in the rock categories (Song, Performance, Album) for IDLES’ latest album TANGK at the upcoming Grammy Awards.
TANGK reached No.1 on the UK album chart, the band’s second No.1 after 2020’s Ultra Mono, and No.2 in Germany. Partisan also achieved a No.1 UK charting album with Fontaines DC’s Skinty Fia in 2022.
Cigarettes After Sex’s 2017 debut is certified Platinum in the US (now reaching over 1.4m sales) led by single Apocalypse, which has surpassed 1.5 billion Spotify streams.
Cigarettes After Sex have sold over 10 million streaming equivalent albums and upwards of 600,000 tickets worldwide on their current arena tour, including a sold-out Madison Square Garden, supporting their most recent album X’s.
“Partisan Records have done what is increasingly difficult in today’s music business, forging an important cultural movement around an independent record label,” said JT Myers, Co-CEO of Virgin Music Group.
“Partisan Records have done what is increasingly difficult in today’s music business, forging an important cultural movement around an independent record label.”
JT Myers, Virgin Music Group
Added Myers: “They have identified and nurtured some of the world’s most impactful career artists and we are looking forward to working alongside them to expand their audiences all around the world.”
Established in 2007 in Brooklyn, NY, Partisan has offices in New York, London, Los Angeles and Berlin.
The company’s imprints include section1 and Desert Daze Sound. Partisan collectively earned 14 nominations at the 2024 A2IM Libera Awards (the most for any label), including a win for Label of the Year and a “5-win-sweep” for Blondshell.
In 2023, Ezra Collective became the first-ever jazz group to win the UK’s Mercury Prize for their album, Where I’m Meant To Be.
Partisan’s current roster also features such artists as Geese, Angélica Garcia, Lip Critic, Beth Orton, Body Meat, NoSo, TTSSFU, Westerman, HONESTY, Léa Sen, WITCH, Cameron Winter, Just Mustard and more.
Section1’s roster features Blonde Redhead and Fazerdaze.
Elsewhere at Virgin Music Group, the company recently teamed up with Tokyo-based Bushiroad Music to distribute anime music globally.
Last month, VMG acquired Outdustry, an artist and label services and rights management business focused on China, India and other “high-potential markets”.
The deal marked the latest global M&A move from VMG, and follows the acquisition of Saban Music Latin in January.Music Business Worldwide
