Universal’s Downtown deal must be blocked by regulators before “cultural diversity is weakened irreversibly” says Dutch indie label group president

Universal’s Downtown deal must be blocked by regulators before “cultural diversity is weakened irreversibly” says Dutch indie label group president

The President of Dutch indie label trade group STOMP, Kees van Weijen, has urged the European Union to block Universal Music’s acquisition of Downtown Music, insisting that both national and EU competition regulators have a duty to “step in before consolidation erodes competition and weakens cultural diversity irreversibly”. Alongside his role at STOMP, Van Weijen also sits on the board of pan-European indie label trade group IMPALA, which has s…