
Mondo.NYC Speaker


Pieter van Rijn
CEO, Downtown Music
Pieter van Rijn is the CEO of Downtown Music, the world’s largest music services company. With extensive experience across global strategy, van Rijn is responsible for overseeing and providing expanded leadership across Downtown Music’s four divisions -- Publishing, Distribution, Artist & Label Services and Royalties & Financial Services -- which collectively serve over 5,000 business clients and reach over 4 million creators and artists in 145 countries.
Prior to becoming CEO of Downtown Music, Pieter served as the group President of Downtown Music and as CEO of global music distributor FUGA, joining in 2014 and leading the business through a period of unprecedented growth. Now firmly established as the world’s leading B2B distribution company, van Rijn led the steady transformation to FUGA becoming a full label-services business, including marketing services, sync, royalty accounting, physical distribution, and audience engagement and insights.
A graduate of Erasmus University of Rotterdam, van Rijn began his career as a songwriter signed to Sony Music before moving into corporate strategy and M&A, consulting for some of Europe’s largest companies. A sought-after public speaker and columnist, van Rijn has given keynotes and penned columns for a number of global conferences and outlets including SXSW, A2IM’s Indie Week, Amsterdam Dance Event, Music Biz and Music Ally. He has also been recognized in Billboard’s Indie Power Players List consecutively from 2022 to 2024 and was an active member of the Merlin Board from 2020-2024.
Mondo 2025 Panels
Downtown Music CEO Pieter van Rijn in conversation with NYU Steinhardt's Larry Miller
Wednesday, October 15, 2025 12:00 PM
When Pieter van Rijn spoke at Mondo in 2024, he reflected on the company’s journey over the two decades since its founding. Through a series of strategic moves amid an ever-evolving industry, Downtown evolved from a traditional music publisher into a comprehensive music services business serving independent artists, songwriters and businesses worldwide
But in the year since van Rijn's last Mondo visit, the next step in Downtown's journey has been one of its most interesting, with the company's December 2024 announcement of its proposed acquisition by Virgin Music Group. Now, with a focus firmly on the future, van Rijn and Larry Miller will discuss the growing needs of independent artists, songwriters, and the businesses that support them, how technology is influencing a changing industry, and how a collaboration between Downtown and Virgin could provide this generation and the next with the tools they need to unlock their full potential.