Nts, independence at what price?

The independent station NTS Radio, emblem of the London underground scene, has hired all its assets – present and future – as a guarantee of a loan contracted with the giant Universal Music Group, which already holds 49 % of its capital. A risky financial operation that raises questions about the future of its autonomy. NTS reassures and claims to maintain total creative control.

NTS Radio has never really belonged to anyone. Since its beginnings in 2011 in a Dalston container, the London station has forged a reputation from the overall outpost of alternative music. A platform for peripheral voices, decentrated sounds, unlined aesthetics. A radio that, more than anything, claimed its independence.
A video for example:

But on June 21, 2023, NTS took an unexpected turn. That day, Universal Music Group (UMG) officially became what Companies House calls a “person with meaning control”: an entity having “directly or indirectly more than 25 %, but not more than 50 %” of the shares of the company. More specifically, according to an additional deposit dated August 23, UMG acquired 68,922 shares at £ 72.55 per unit, an investment of around 5 million pounds sterling for an acquisition of 25 %. Since then, their share has risen to 9 %, which makes UMG the main shareholder of NTS LIVE LTD.

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This participation of UMG did not give rise to any public announcement in good and due form, if not an email sent to supporters, these listeners who support the station via monthly donations. The tone was reassuring, almost happy:

“UMG has brought good long -term funding, while leaving us total control over creation and operational. They believe in what we do for the right reasons. »»

We promise that nothing will change: no access to listening data, no influence on playlists, no obligation to disseminate or promote the major artists.

But not everyone reads Companies House. And that is perhaps why this unusual alliance between the largest label in the world and an independent station-has gone almost unnoticed in the specialized press.

2024–2025 : mise sous charge

A year later, in April 2025, a new document surfaced. NTS LIVE LTD granted a ” legal charge »At Universal Music Operations LTD – Clearly, a loan guaranteed by all of its assets. This includes his current and future property, his leases, his copyright, his marks and his patents. The amount and conditions of the loan were not revealed. But the nature of the contract is clear: if NTS does not reimburse, Universal can enter the assets.

It is here that the question of independence becomes less symbolic than structural. NTS Insists: UMG does not have the radio. Legally, that’s right. But in fact, the disc giant now has a double grip: 49 % of the capital, and a mortgage on all of the assets.

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The station did not wish to comment on this new information. The founder Femi Adeyemi, always listed as « Chief Commercial Officer », is no longer recognized as a person exercising significant control since June 2023. However, internal messages disseminated to DJs and contributors continue to assert autonomous management, an intact editorial line, and a future where nothing would change … Except a few hires, an improved app, a more efficient site.

So, is NTS still independent?

In a context where Bandcamp has just undermined the tremors of a redemption by Epic Games and then a rushed resale in Songtradr, the independent music community remains on its guard. This kind of partnership can make you dream on paper – stable financing, increased visibility – but it remains to be seen if it does not turn into a nightmare with an accounting line and restructuring.

For the moment, nothing has apparently changed. NTS still broadcasts its sets of Cumbia Psyche, Dark Grime and Textured Ambient. Residents are still there. The tone, the line, the programming – everything seems in place. But the bases of the building were redesigned, in silence. And the foundations, now, are also based on Universal.