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Virgin Music Group<\/strong> has signed a global distribution partnership with Suede Records<\/strong>, a new label launched by music curator Ari Elkins<\/strong> and A&R executive Joey McCarthy<\/strong>.<\/p>\n VMG<\/strong>, the independent artist and label services division of Universal Music Group<\/a><\/strong>, will provide global distribution and marketing services for the label.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were fans of Ari before we even got to sit together last year due to his online presence and knowledge of music and \u2018what\u2019s next,\u2019 but after meeting we immediately knew that his passion for music discovery and engaging with digital audiences would be an amazing fit with our ethos at Virgin Music Group,\u201d said Jacqueline Saturn<\/a><\/strong>, President of North America and EVP, Global Artist Relations, Virgin Music Group.<\/p>\n Elkins<\/strong> has built a following as a music discovery figure on TikTok<\/strong> and other platforms. A press release announcing the Virgin partnership cited 3 million<\/strong> followers across his music discovery content, commentary, and playlists.<\/p>\n He was previously recognized by Rolling Stone<\/em> as one of the most influential music curators on TikTok<\/strong>.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were fans of Ari before we even got to sit together last year due to his online presence and knowledge of music and \u2018what\u2019s next,\u2019 but after meeting we immediately knew that his passion for music discovery and engaging with digital audiences would be an amazing fit.\u201d<\/p>\n Jacqueline Saturn<\/strong>, President of North America and EVP, Global Artist Relations, Virgin Music Group.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n \u201cEverything I\u2019ve built has been about connecting artists with the audiences they deserve, whether that\u2019s introducing someone to the world for the first time or helping an established artist reach a new generation of fans,\u201d said Elkins<\/strong>.<\/p>\n \u201cPartnering with Jacqueline and the team at Virgin Music Group gives us the resources to do this on a larger scale. With Suede, we\u2019re focused on artists with no ceiling and building their careers intentionally. We\u2019re not chasing moments; we are developing artists that people will still care about decades from now.\u201d<\/p>\n McCarthy<\/strong>, who serves as the label\u2019s A&R lead, previously held the role of Head of Music at management company Fourward<\/strong>, whose clients have included Chris Hemsworth<\/strong> and Jacob Elordi<\/strong>. Before moving into music, he worked in brand marketing at adidas<\/strong>.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve spent my career at the intersection of branding and music, and Suede is where those worlds come together,\u201d said McCarthy<\/strong>.<\/p>\n \u201cIt starts with taste \u2014 hearing the record before it moves and seeing the artist before the world does. At Suede, we\u2019re truly in the trenches with our artists and their teams, shaping the music, building the creative, and ultimately connecting it with audiences. We\u2019re excited to partner with Virgin Music Group, who share that same vision.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAt Suede, we\u2019re truly in the trenches with our artists and their teams, shaping the music, building the creative, and ultimately connecting it with audiences.\u201d<\/p>\n McCarthy<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n According to the press release, McCarthy<\/strong> has signed and developed Grammy-nominated producers whose credits include Drake<\/strong>, H.E.R.<\/strong>, Noah Kahan<\/strong>, and Avicii<\/strong>, collectively contributing to over 1 billion<\/strong> streams.<\/p>\n Suede Records<\/strong> says it will operate with a genre-agnostic approach, prioritizing artists with what it describes as strong identities, emotional depth, and cultural resonance.<\/p>\n The deal marks a return to the label world for Elkins<\/strong>, who in 2023<\/strong> co-founded Blue Suede Records<\/strong> as a joint venture with Avex USA<\/strong>, the American arm of Japanese entertainment company Avex Group<\/strong>.<\/p>\n That label was covered by MBW at the time of its launch<\/a>. Elkins began his career in the music industry at Warner Music Group<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n The partnership is the latest in a string of distribution deals signed by Virgin Music Group<\/strong> as it continues to expand its network of independent label partners.<\/p>\n In August 2025<\/strong>, VMG signed a global partnership<\/a> with Michael Goldstone<\/strong> and Thaddeus Rudd<\/strong>\u2018s Mom+Pop Music<\/strong>, whose roster includes MGMT<\/strong> and Magdalena Bay<\/strong>.<\/p>\n That deal followed earlier partnerships with labels including Position Music<\/a><\/strong> and Neon Gold Records<\/strong>, as well as a joint agreement with Island Records and Car\u00edn Le\u00f3n\u2019s Socios Music<\/a>.<\/p>\n VMG<\/strong> completed its acquisition of Downtown Music Holdings<\/a> for $775 million<\/strong> in February 2026<\/strong>, bringing distribution platforms including CD Baby<\/a><\/strong> and FUGA<\/a><\/strong> under its umbrella. Pieter van Rijn<\/strong>, previously CEO of Downtown<\/a>, was named COO of VMG as part of that deal\u2019s completion.Music Business Worldwide<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.musicbusinessworldwide.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Virgin Music Group has signed a global distribution partnership with Suede Records, a new label launched by music curator Ari Elkins and A&R executive Joey McCarthy. VMG, the independent artist and label services division of Universal Music Group, will provide global distribution and marketing services for the label. \u201cWe were fans of Ari before we […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2363295,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25179],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2363294","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Virgin-Music-Group-announces-global-distribution-partnership-with-Ari-Elkins.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2363294","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2363294"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2363294\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2363296,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2363294\/revisions\/2363296"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2363295"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2363294"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2363294"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2363294"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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