Tracy Maddux, chief commercial officer at Downtown Music Holdings, is stepping down from his role effective immediately, the company announced Sunday (Nov. 19).
Maddux was previously CEO at CD Baby, whose parent company, AVL Digital Group, was acquired by Downtown in 2019. According to a press release announcing his exit, Maddux most recently contributed to Downtown’s acquisitions of FUGA in 2020 and Curve Royalty Systems in 2022.
Maddux will “continue providing his insights and expertise” to Downtown as a consultant and advisor for the company throughout 2024, the release adds.
“It has been a remarkable journey at Downtown, and I am proud of everything we have achieved together,” said Maddux in a statement. “From the strategic sale of CD Baby, AdRev, and DashGo, to leading our M&A practice and working towards the integration of FUGA and Curve, we have set new industry standards. I am now eager to embrace new challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. I want to thank Andrew Bergman and Justin Kalifowitz for their unwavering support and partnership during our work together over the past 13 years.”
“Tracy has made material contributions to our culture and to the growth of the business,” added Andrew Bergman, Downtown Music Holdings CEO. “He’s universally respected by his peers and I personally consider myself fortunate to have worked alongside him. We look forward to our continued association with Tracy.”
This past March, Downtown suffered layoffs across its CD Baby, Downtown Music Publishing, Songtrust, and Downtown Music Holdings divisions. In an email obtained by Billboard that Bergman sent to Downtown staff, he couched the layoffs as part of a “reorganization” that “harmonizes the past several years of strategic investments and divestitures.” As described in a previous Billboard profile of the company, Downtown completed the process of reimagining itself as a service-focused firm in 2021 after selling its 145,000 owned copyrights to Concord in a deal worth an estimated $350 million.
