Downtown Music has promoted Tom Allen to the permanent role of Chief Technology Officer and appointed Richard Leach as President of Curve and Downtown Royalties & Financial Services.
Allen, who co-founded royalty accounting software Curve Royalty Systems in 2019, has been serving as Downtown’s interim CTO since April 2024, following the passing of previous technology chief Manan Vohra.
Allen joined Downtown Music in 2023 when it acquired London-headquartered Curve.
Leach, meanwhile, previously served as Managing Director of Curve. Downtown said Curve has integrated with a number of Downtown businesses over the past 12 months and has established additional services including the recently launched Curve Royalty Services, which offers end-to-end services for labels, publishers, and distributors.
Through Curve Royalty Services, clients are able to outsource parts or their entire royalty processes including accounting and reporting for artists and songwriters. Downtown said over 10% of Curve’s global client base used the service shortly after the launch.
“At Curve, we’ve innovated the infrastructure that powers the industry and provided greater insight and transparency into royalty transactions than ever before. I look forward to building on the continued success we’ve seen at Curve and working more closely with the entire portfolio,” said Leach.
Leach will now report to both Allen and Downtown CEO Pieter van Rijn in his expanded role. He will lead the company’s efforts to grow its royalty and financial service offerings across both publishing and recorded music rights.
“Downtown continues to make royalty services, accounting, and payments faster and simpler for records labels and music publishers around the world,” added Leach.
Allen added: “We’re at a really interesting moment in the music tech space, where what was deemed impossible five years ago is now becoming a reality. I’m honored to take on the CTO role and carry on the exceptional work started by Manan.”
,”Tom is a visionary leader with a deep understanding of technology, operations, and the needs of artists, songwriters, and the companies that support them,” Van Rijn said.
“Richard understands the royalty and financial services space like few others in the industry, and Curve continues to play a critical role in the work that Downtown does. I’m excited to see him build on its extraordinary success.”
Downtown Music has expanded its business in recent years through acquisitions and new offerings. The company now operates across four divisions: Publishing, Distribution, Artist & Label Services, and Royalties & Financial Services.
In 2021, Downtown sold its owned catalog of 145,000 copyrights to Concord for around $400 million.
Today, Downtown says it works with over 5,000 business clients and more than 4 million creators in 145 countries across its various businesses.
In December 2024, Universal Music Group‘s Virgin Music Group revealed that it has agreed to buy Downtown Music in a deal worth $775 million.
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