Drew Hill has drawn up his battle plan for Proper Music Group (PMG) after acquiring the assets of the company with Netherlands-based Artone from administrators earlier this year. 

The deal included Proper Music Distribution (PMD), the UK’s leading physical distributor of independent music. Hill, who has been at the helm of PMD for 18 years, remained as MD as part of the agreement.

Proper makes up 13% of the UK’s physical music market, with clients including Absolute Label Services, ADA, AWAL, Believe, Cherry Red, Concord, Nova Sales & Distribution, Epitaph, Fuga, Hospital, Ingrooves, Kartel, The Orchard, RSK, Snapper and SRD.

Artone also acquired D2C specialist Townsend Music last year and boasts a manufacturing plant, European distribution and a print business.

"I’ve known them for years," said Hill. "As long as I’ve been working at Proper, I’ve been working with one of their subsidiaries, Bertus, so it felt like a natural, comfortable fit.

“I have part-ownership in a business that I’ve had so much enjoyment building. We were able to pull a deal together where they’ve been really comfortable with the idea of me taking an equity stake in the business."

I cannot thank the industry enough for their support

Drew Hill

Following a bidding process and the appointment of the joint administrators, certain assets were sold to Artone and Hill, including the shares of all companies trading under PMG – PMD, Proper Records, Proper Music Publishing and propermusic.com.

The acquisition by the Dutch company has enabled clients of both PMD and Artone to unlock pan-European deals for distribution, production, packaging, retail and D2C sales.

“The main thing is looking at a short-term plan to identify synergies between other Artone companies and Proper to bring some quick wins," Hill told Music Week. "Normally, if someone was going to buy a business of our size, it would be months of due diligence and courting, but this deal was literally done in two months, so we’re all finding our feet a bit. But I’ve got a really good feeling that this is going to be a good relationship.

The partnership followed a turbulent few years for the company after its acquisition by Swiss fintech firm Utopia in 2022. Bankruptcy proceedings for the latter, which was renamed Proper Group AG, were initiated in September 2024. 

Hill opens up on that turn of events in the June issue of Music Week, also sharing his debt of gratitude to the music business for standing by him throughout the period of uncertainty.

“When we announced the deal I was overwhelmed with well wishes," he said. "Let’s face it, we don’t often hear about people rooting for each other in the music business, but this has been a refreshing change. From the biggest retailer, Amazon, down to the smallest little indie record shop, everyone has done their bit to help. I cannot thank the industry enough for their support.

"The minute I went to record labels and retailers and said we could be in trouble, every single person said, ‘What can we do to support you?’ Certain retailers offered to settle their bills early. We had to introduce extra fees for labels or increase their distribution fees. No one wants to pay more, but everyone was understanding."

The year before last, our biggest two selling vinyl releases at UDS were Harry Styles and Taylor Swift, so I’m hugely confident about the future of physical

Drew Hill

According to ERA, physical music revenues in the UK reached £330.1m in 2024, up 6.2% from 2023, with vinyl album sales growing faster than music streaming (7.8%) by 10.5% to £196m. Hill declared himself "very confident" about the future of the physical sector. 

"We’ve seen a bit of a downturn in US physical sales recently, but overall global sales have been really positive," he said. "Contrary to popular belief, most vinyl buyers are not old blokes buying copies of Pink Floyd, but 20 to mid-30-year-olds. The year before last, our biggest two selling vinyl releases at UDS were Harry Styles and Taylor Swift, so I’m hugely confident about the future of physical.

"I’m not a luddite, I’m not sticking my head in the sand; it’s against a challenging backdrop, but I think this idea that it’s a binary choice between streaming or physical is completely wrong. Streaming almost gives people an opportunity to try before you buy and, as long as labels keep putting a lot of love and care into producing beautiful packaging, I think the physical market will continue. The opportunity is to make sure there are options for real music fans to invest in an artefact that shows their support for their favourite band.”

Nevertheless, Hill preached caution over the cost of vinyl.

“It’s been proven that we’re bringing in new fans, but we’ve got to be mindful that there must be a ceiling where the average consumer says, ‘I’m not paying that,’" he said. "As an industry, let’s not get so greedy that we end up killing the golden goose and shooting ourselves in the foot. We’ve got a great business, let’s make sure we put the fan first and think about what is a sensible price.”

Subscribers can read the full interview with Hill in the latest issue of Music Week.