Following a series of layoffs and shakeups, Downtown Music Holdings appears to be undergoing another re-organization.
Downtown announced the layoffs in March 2023, with impacted people working in publishing roles, including CD Baby, Songtrust, Downtown’s publishing unit, and Downtown Music Holdings. The layoffs were initiated as part of a “number of cost-saving measures” the company put underway.
Now Downtown Music announced the promotion of Ben Patterson to President of its Artist & Label Services division. The Artist & Label Services division was born from Downtown’s distribution arm, DashGo. Downtown Artist & Label Services will provide a home to and roll up the impressive repertoire of artists and labels previously serviced as DashGo and Downtown Music Services.
Patterson is an industry veteran who has spent his 20+ year career helping artists share their music with the world on their own terms. He previously worked in senior roles at The Firm and GMG Entertainment. He founded DashGo in 2004 to be an artist an label-centric distribution company, which was later acquired by Downtown in 2019. Patterson served as the Chief Operating Officer of Downtown Music Services, with its distribution business revenues growing 250% year-over-year.
“Artist independence has been the central driver of my career, and empowering artists is at the core of everything we do at Downtown. With a global team focused on artists’ success during the lifetime of their projects, the Artist and Label Services division enables artists to succeed on every platform and build a listening fanbase to sustain careers,” adds Ben Patterson, President of Downtown Artist & Label Services.
“I’m excited to continue my tenure at Downtown Music surrounded by colleagues that share the same vision and embrace the opportunity to support more artists and their teams at all stages of their careers.”
“With Ben’s move, we have completed a series of changes that we commenced two years ago, firmly establishing Downtown as the premier provider of distribution, publishing, artist, label, and related services to the broader industry. We’re extremely fortunate to have Ben and the rest of the leadership team that guides this division and I am excited to see how they continue to grow and evolve.”