VIRGIN MUSIC GROUP APPOINTS SYAHEED MSBI TO VICE PRESIDENT OF AMEA REGION

(LOS ANGELES  August 13, 2026)  Virgin Music Group, the world’s leading partner to independent artists, labels and entrepreneurs, announced today it has appointed Syaheed MSBI to the position of Vice President of the AMEA region at the company. In this newly created role, Syaheed will oversee the company’s activities in Africa, Middle East, and Asia (AMEA). 

“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.”

Syaheed joins Virgin after more than 13 years at Believe, where he was most recently Global Artist Success & International Director. During his tenure at Believe, he built the company’s artist services business across Southeast Asia and Australia, working with such important artists as Hindia, Yura Yunita, Sal Priadi, Saran, Blvckheart, Nik Makino, Young Bleed Neet, Cub Sport and others. He was also instrumental in building out the company’s team and offices in Singapore and Malaysia, establishing the company’s successful operations in these important markets.

He got his start by establishing his own independent music company, Bedsty, in 2002, where he signed, produced and developed artists across Singapore and Malaysia. At Bedsty he managed such artists as Sezairi, the first Singaporean artist to cross 100 Million streams on Spotify, as well as Sheikh Haikel, THELIONCITYBOY and Wicked Aura. 

The announcement follows the recent acquisition of Downtown by VMG, with FUGA and Downtown Artist & Label Services now operating under VMG’s regional leadership structure, aligning its teams and operations, and strengthening collaboration across the combined business in each market.

“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 established a formidable on-the-ground network across AMEA,  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, and Anita Zagar in South Korea.