Stem Co-CEOs Talk Concord Acquisition, the BMG Merger & Why Distribution Is So Competitive
Categoria: Musica
Milana Lewis and Kristin Graziani explain why the company "always got outbid" before its agreement with Concord and how it's getting harder to retain deals.
Por Billboard | 17/06/2026
Last spring, Concord announced its acquisition of Stem , an independent artist services company led by Milana Rabkin Lewis . The deal, however, didn’t come as a total surprise. Over the past few years, distribution and artist services companies have consistently been on the market, and larger players have been eager to buy into what they’ve built — and the market share gains and flexibility they can provide. Concord is far from the only big company to buy in: Universal Music Group acquired Downtown in February, and Warner Music Group purchased Revelator in April, while Sony Music bought AWAL in 2022. But in Lewis and co-CEO Kristin Graziani ‘s first joint interview about the Stem acquisition, they say these acquisitions aren’t just helpful for the larger music companies — the deals are increasingly necessary for the distributors, too. “We just always got outbid, and the majors always were able to poach [our clients],” explains Lewis, pointing to the rising cost of deals. Related Concord Acquires Stem Distribution to Boost Indie Artist Services 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show' Coming to Las Vegas' Sphere Carly Pearce Signs With BBR Music Group/BMG Nashville For many artist services firms, the fast-growing price tags for signings, brought on by a combination of falling interest rates and the majors shifting toward the indies’ traditionally more artist-friendly deal structures, had made competition basically untenable. Lewis points to the now-massive artists and labels Stem was unable to retain after this shift due to cost — including Chappell Roan , Big Loud, Rimas and Hundred Days. “We lost them because we couldn’t [spend the money needed],” Lewis says candidly. Now, however, Lewis and Graziani, backed by Concord’s cash, believe they have the firepower needed to become long-term partners for the next generation of top artists and label executives, including current Stem signees like Nick Hakim , Jane Remover, Choker, Midrift (founded by the team behind Turnstile ), Giant Music, Boomer Records, Bringin’ It Backwards and more. Concord’s coffers also offer them the resources needed to build out their team internally. “Concord really was the perfect match in terms of resources and then autonomy,” says Lewis. In this interview, Lewis and Graziani discuss this new era for Stem, why they chose to go with Concord, the complexities and competition inside the distribution world and more. I’m sure you explored all the options on the market when you decided you were ready to sell, so why did you choose Concord? Lewis: The biggest constraint to our growth and retention of our clients was money. We had raised so many different types of facilities to try to stay competitive in the market, because we were working with so many talented labels and artists, and we were behind so many of the greatest success stories in the last decade, but we couldn̵