Virgin Music Group Names Syaheed MSBI VP for Africa, Middle East, Asia

Virgin Music Group has appointed Syaheed MSBI as Vice President of its Africa, Middle East and Asia (AMEA) region, a newly created role announced on Thursday (August 13). He joins from Believe, where he spent more than 13 years, most recently as Global Artist Success and International Director.

“Syaheed has built his reputation as a fierce advocate for artists first as a founder of his own independent music company and later as a seasoned exec building a robust business in support of independent labels and artists,” said Michael Roe, Virgin Music Group’s Managing Director of AMEA. “With his deep connections on the ground across AMEA, we’re looking forward to having him come in to lead and inspire our great team as we continue to build our best-in-class offering for the independent community around the world.”

During his tenure at Believe, Syaheed built the company’s artist services business across Southeast Asia and Australia. He worked with artists including:

• Hindia
• Yura Yunita
• Sal Priadi
• Saran
• Blvckheart
• Nik Makino
• Young Bleed Neet
• Cub Sport

He also played a key role in building Believe’s team and offices in Singapore and Malaysia.

Syaheed began his career in 2002, founding independent music company Bedsty. At Bedsty, he signed, produced and developed artists across Singapore and Malaysia. His roster included Sezairi, the first Singaporean artist to cross 100 million streams on Spotify, as well as Sheikh Haikel, THELIONCITYBOY and Wicked Aura.

Virgin Music Group’s AMEA footprint

The appointment follows Virgin Music Group’s acquisition of Downtown Music Holdings, first announced in 2024. After the deal, Pieter van Rijn was named Chief Operating Officer, while Downtown founder Justin Kalifowitz stepped away. FUGA and Downtown Artist & Label Services now operate within Virgin’s regional leadership structure. Downtown’s businesses also include CD Baby, Songtrust and Downtown Music Publishing. Virgin Music Group is led by co-CEOs Nat Pastor and JT Myers.

“I’m excited to join Virgin Music Group, where Nat [Pastor], JT [Myers], Michael, and the entire team are building one of the most exciting companies in music today,” said Syaheed. “Virgin is known for its industry-leading service, artist-first ambition, and global reach, and now that’s combined with Downtown’s best-in-class global infrastructure, we are able to ensure entrepreneurial labels and artists in AMEA have the premier solution to find their fans and build lasting success. I’m looking forward to working closely with the incredible labels and artists across the Virgin family, because when artists, labels, and partners win together, the whole industry moves forward. This is especially important for our emerging markets.”

Virgin Music Group has built a team across the AMEA region, including:

• Haluk Cerahaman in Turkey
• Amit Sharma in India
• Cindy Gu in Southeast Asia
• Marcus Rowland in China
• Kay Ikazobo in Nigeria
• Nicole Thomas in South Africa
• Anita Zagar in South Korea

In June, Virgin Music Group organized its worldwide operations into six regions, with Michael Roe serving as Managing Director of AMEA.