Ultra Records and Ultra Music Festival form ‘global alliance’ to ‘strengthen one another’

Most people don’t realize the distinction, but ‘Ultra Music Festival’ is actually completely unrelated to ‘Ultra Records’ — until now. Billboard.biz reports that the two companies will be forming a “global alliance,” that essentially links one of the strongest record labels out there to one of the most lucrative festival brands worldwide. Home to acts like Calvin Harris, Deadmau5, Kaskade, and the Bloody Beetroots, Ultra Records has been a longstanding authority on dance music, and label head Patrick Moxey is one of the most insightful people in the industry. Billboard rightfully notes that together the two Ultra companies form a “uniquely potent platform, one able to take an artist from unknown, to chart and festival fodder in a single deal.”

“Together, they form a uniquely potent platform…” – Billboard

The announcement comes at a time that we’ve been calling the ‘Great EDM consolidation’ here at DA. Large players that have previously turned a blind eye to the dance space have recognized the uptick in popularity and are throwing down big money to buy up production companies and promoters. While the details of the ‘Ultra^2’ deal have not been disclosed, the two companies have had their skin in the game for quite a while now, and this will inevitably serve as a gateway for getting new names out there in a big way. Russell Faibisch, UMF co-founder and CEO, said that “We are in a time when corporations are aggressively buying their way into our scene ‘brand by brand’… And we choose not to sell out, but instead are coming together to strengthen one another.”

“We choose not to sell out, but instead are coming together to strengthen one another.” – Russell Faibisch, UMF

Aside from the obvious event / artist connections, a “wide array of premium products, services and content” will come out of the deal. While some of these recent music business announcements have given us pause, we are genuinely excited to see how this pans out.

Via: Billboard.biz

Categories: News