Believe reinforces its leadership position in South-East Asia through a strategic partnership with Viva Music and Artists Group

Believe reinforces its leadership position
in South-East Asia through a strategic partnership
with Viva Music and Artists Group

Paris, December 2, 2021 – Believe, one of the world’s leading digital music companies, has concluded a strategic partnership with Viva Music and Artists Group (VMAG), the leading label in the Philippines and one of the largest labels in South-East Asia.

VMAG is controlled by Viva Holdings the N°1 and family-owned media company in the country, a key asset to attract and develop top local and regional artists. VMAG is also the owner of the oldest and richest back catalogue in the Philippines. This strategic partnership expands Believe’s and VMAG’s existing relationship to develop local artists and exploit VMAG’s unique catalogue. This will also contribute to accelerate the digital growth of VMAG while further strengthening Believe’s position as a leading player in South-East Asia. As part of the strategic partnership, Believe has acquired a 15% stake in VMAG.

Asia is currently the fastest growing digital music market and will become the largest recording music market globally by the end of this decade with the Philippines being a top 20 country globally. Believe started investing in the region in 2013 and is now present as a leading player in 14 territories.

Believe and VMAG have been collaborating on the regional development of artists since 2019. As market growth has now started to gain speed creating new opportunities, VMAG and Believe deepen their relationship to accelerate their growth. With this partnership, VMAG and VMAG’s artists will now benefit from the full range of digital services provided by Believe and from Believe’s proprietary marketing and technology solutions.

VMAG is home of Viva Records, the fastest growing label in terms of new artists, and Vicor Music the owner of the oldest and richest back catalogue in the Philippines. VMAG has been a first mover in mainstream local hip hop and has today a very active roster of top and up-coming artists. The partnership will provide a unique development platform for local OPM (Original Pilipino Music) artists. Believe and VMAG offer a complete range of services to local artists through 360° solutions, ranging from VMAG's talent management, sync, publishing, branding, merchandising and production capabilities to Believe's digital development expertise.

Believe is investing in VMAG by purchasing shares representing 15% of the total share capital for a consideration of €23 million.

“It is with great pleasure and honor that I welcome Believe’s entry into Viva. Being one of the leading digital music corporations in the world, Believe brings with it its unparalleled track record in music technology advances and industry leading label and artists services. Opportunities are boundless, as the partnership seeks to take Viva Music and Artists Group, Inc. (VMAG) into the next level, with the sole aim of marrying Believe’s vast international know-how on the digital front and that of Viva’s 50 years of dominance of the Filipino entertainment scene. This is truly an exciting development not only for the 2 companies, but also for all the great and talented Pinoy artists who dream of making it big in business both here and abroad”", remarked Vic Del Rosario, Jr. VMAG Chairman, President and CEO.

"I am extremely proud and honored to establish this long-term partnership between Viva Music and Artists Group and Believe. Under the highly successful leadership of Vic Del Rosario, Jr. coupled with the forward-thinking vision of Verb Del Rosario, Viva has achieved the unique position of being simultaneously the most established and the most innovative music company in the Philippines. I am very confident that, leveraging each other’s expertise, this partnership will enable Viva and Believe to capture the ever-growing opportunities of the Philippines market and contribute to the rise of Local Artists", said Sylvain Delange, Managing Director of Believe Asia Pacific.

About Believe
Believe is one of the world’s leading digital music companies. Believe’s mission is to develop independent artists and labels in the digital world by providing them the solutions they need to grow their audience at each stage of their career and development. Believe’s passionate team of digital music experts around the world leverages the Group’s global technology platform to advise artists and labels, distribute and promote their music. Its 1,401 employees in more than 50 countries aim to support independent artists and labels with a unique digital expertise, respect, fairness and transparency. Believe offers its various solutions through a portfolio of brands including TuneCore, Nuclear Blast, Naïve, Groove Attack and AllPoints.
Believe is listed on compartment A of the regulated market of Euronext Paris (Ticker: BLV.PA, ISIN: FR0014003FE9).
www.believe.com

About Viva Music and Artist Management Group, Inc.

VMAGI is one of the largest entertainment companies in the Philippines. It owns the biggest library of recorded Filipino music with over 50 years of continuous hit-making dominance across different music genres. Its industry-leading artists’ management company represents close to a thousand talents including some of the most popular stars as well as the most influential content creators in the digital space. Led by its visionary Founder and Chairman, Vic del Rosario, Jr., the group’s mission is to push the Filipino artistry into the forefront of music and content creation to reach a wider audience not only via traditional distribution means but also through the ever-advancing innovations on the digital front. VMAGI is part of the larger Viva Group of companies which has core business interests in film and television production and distribution, Pay TV, digital (MCN, podcasts, entertainment websites, etc.), and the nation’s fastest growing video streaming service – Vivamax. 

CONTACTS

Investor Relations Contact
Emilie Megel - +33 1 53 09 33 91, +33 6 07 09 98 60 – emilie.megel@believe.com

Media Contacts
Kelly Martin - +33 6 63 52 94 74 - kelly.martin@agenceproches.com

Attachment

• Press release - Believe Viva Partnership - 02 - 12 - 2021 - ENG