ABOUT
JT Myers is Co-CEO of Virgin Music Group, the global independent label and artist services division of Universal Music Group, which he runs Virgin alongside his longtime business partner, Co-CEO Nat Pastor.
Prior to joining Virgin Music Group, Myers and Pastor co-founded mtheory, an artist development company which creates non-traditional partnerships with independent artists and managers, executing bespoke global campaigns for artists such as Major Lazer, the xx, Flume and RL Grime. Additionally, Myers and Pastor advised mtheory clients, music industry entrepreneurs, and large enterprises on strategic initiatives and music rights transactions totaling more than $1.5 billion, including $50 million deployed on behalf of mtheory’s two internal fund vehicles, Unison and MTC.
Before co-founding mtheory in 2010, Myers was Vice President of 360 at Warner Music Group, overseeing the company’s entry into touring, merchandising, ticketing and fan clubs. He was a key architect of the label group’s revolutionary 360 deals with artists. He began his career in music at Warner in 2000 as a business development executive. He holds an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania’s prestigious Wharton Business School.
PANELS
All Grown Up: Independent Artists and Human Creativity in the Age of Technology - Fireside Chat: Virgin Music Group Co-CEO JT Myers & CD Baby President Molly Neuman
Today’s independent artists find themselves at a crossroads. The barriers to entry, once a critical gatekeeper to their careers, have all but disappeared; it has never been easier, cheaper or faster to release a song to a global audience. But with this accessibility has come an avalanche of content and growing pressure on artists seeking long-term, sustainable careers to keep up.
CD Baby has spent nearly thirty years at the vanguard of music distribution and consistently maintained its position as one of the leading distributors of independent music. Following Downtown’s acquisition by Virgin Music Group, it finds itself with renewed resources, newly powered by the infrastructure and global reach of one of the industry’s leading independent music companies. But as models change, trends evolve and competitors come and go, its core dedication to quality over quantity remains.
That new home also reflects a broader evolution across the independent music sector, as Virgin Music Group brings together a growing range of services, technology and global capabilities designed to support independent artists, labels and entrepreneurs at different stages of their development — while preserving the independence at the heart of their businesses.
In this fireside chat, Virgin Music Group Co-CEO JT Myers and CD Baby President Molly Neuman discuss this new chapter and the rapidly changing independent music landscape around it: how technology is reshaping the opportunities and pressures facing artists; the need to focus on craft despite the pressure to join the noise; and how the industry can help artists build sustainable careers without losing sight of the human creativity that drives them.
Billboard Executive Editor of Business Dan Rys hosts.
Wednesday, October 14, 2026, 12:00 PM