Adrian Pope named EVP Digital Business & Global Partner Relations at Virgin Music Group

Adrian Pope has been appointed Executive Vice President, Digital Business & Global Partner Relations at Virgin Music Group, the global independent music division of Universal Music Group (UMG).

In this role, Pope will liaise between Virgin, its global client base, key digital partners, and the indie music business, the company said in a statement Thursday (March 6).

Pope comes to Virgin from [PIAS], the indie record label company fully acquired by UMG last year, where he served as Chief Digital Officer and Managing Director of label and distribution services at its label services division [Integral].

At [PIAS], Pope worked alongside numerous indie labels such as ATO, Domino, Epitaph, Heavenly, Mute, Ninja Tune, Partisan, Transgressive, and Warp, and with artists including Arlo Parks, Cigarettes After Sex, Editors, London Symphony Orchestra, Moby, and Nick Cave, among others. Based in Virgin’s London office, Pope will continue to integrate [Integral] into Virgin Music Group’s operations.

Prior to his two-decade-plus stint at [PIAS], Pope held roles at Music Week, digital consultancy Understanding & Solutions, and at Independiente – the indie label behind Travis and Paul Weller, among others – where he served as Head of Digital.

Virgin describes him as a “pioneer in the development of the digital music business.”

“We know [Adrian’s] relationships and expertise will be important in our continued growth and success around the world.”

JT Myers, Virgin Music Group

“Adrian played a significant part in building [PIAS] and [Integral] into a world class organization serving the independent music sector,” said JT Myers, Co-CEO of Virgin Music Group.

“We know his relationships and expertise will be important in our continued growth and success around the world and are grateful to have him play a key role on Virgin’s global leadership team.”

“Working with JT, Nat and the global Virgin Music Group team is a fantastic opportunity to help grow a genuinely special and much needed service.”

Adrian Pope, Virgin Music Group

Pope added that he’s “thrilled to work alongside [PIAS] in my new role with Virgin as we expand on our mission to build the services that empower independent entrepreneurs all over the world.

“Working with JT, [Virgin Co-CEO] Nat [Pastor] and the global Virgin Music Group team is a fantastic opportunity to help grow a genuinely special and much needed service.”

Virgin’s latest appointment comes several months after Mark Robinson, formerly of Paramount Global, was named to the newly-created position of Executive Vice President, Global Business and Legal Affairs.

The company has made several other notable appointments over the past year, including Cindy James to the position of General Manager of Virgin’s North American operations, Nick Ghelakis and Nicole Thomas to Co-Country Managers of its South African division, and Justin Bumper Reeve to Senior Vice President of Global Sync.

Virgin made a major move last fall with the announcement it’s acquiring Downtown Music Holdings for $775 million. The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2025.Music Business Worldwide