Proper Music Distribution Acquired by Artone & Drew Hill

Photo Credit: Artone

Artone and Drew Hill have acquired the assets of the UK’s Proper Music Group—including Proper Music Distribution—the UK’s leading physical distributor of independent music.

The acquisition follows the appointment of joint administrators, Mark Supperstone and Ben Woodthorpe of Evelyn Partners, to Proper Music Group on February 27. After a competitive bidding process and appointment of those joint administrators, certain assets were sold to Artone and Drew Hill—former Managing Director of PMG. That includes the shares of all companies trading under PMG—Proper Music Distribution, Proper Records, Proper Music Publishing, and the propermusic.com website.

The acquisition will enable clients of both PMD and Artone to unlock sweeping pan-European deals for distribution, production, packaging, retail and direct-to-consumer sales.

“Artone has been actively looking for opportunities to expand its distribution footprint and PMD represents a perfect fit,” says Jan Willem Kaaschieter, CEO at Artone. “PMD has played a vital role in supporting independent labels and artists in the UK. By bringing PMD into the Artone family, we ensure its continued success and provide stability for its partners. Our expertise, financial strength, and extensive network will support the long-term growth of the business and maintain a strong, diverse physical music market. We look forward to working closely with Drew and the Proper team to build on its legacy.”

The sale has been agreed alongside the signing of a new multi-year lease for PMD’s warehouse in Dartford. Under Drew’s stewardship, the company has expanded across all divisions and now distributes for over 5,000 independent labels and services companies. Proper Music Group’s trading companies will no longer be affiliated with Proper Group AG (formerly Utopia Music AG), for which bankruptcy proceedings were initiated in September 2024.

Drew Hill was at the helm of Proper Music Distribution for more than 18 years. He will remain as its Managing Director. “In its 35 years, Proper Music Group has always strived to go above and beyond for its partners,” Hill said in a statement. “This next step is an opportunity to secure the future of the business and continue to deliver a bespoke service to independent artists and labels. I’ve worked closely with Artone and Bertus Distribution over the years, and together we’ll continue to champion a healthy and competitive physical distribution sector which ensures diversity of choice.”

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