BRUSSELS, July 3 (Reuters) - The two co-chief executives

of Universal Music Group's Virgin Music Group on

Thursday pushed back against critics of its $775 million

acquisition of Downtown Music, saying the deal would create a

company providing a wide range of services to independent

labels.

The European Commission is currently reviewing the deal

announced last December and will announce on July 22 whether to

clear the deal with or without concessions or open a

four-month-long investigation if it has concerns.

Universal is the world's biggest music company and Virgin is

its global unit for independent music. Downtown owns a major

music publisher and a number of other businesses that help

musicians collect royalties.

The acquisition has drawn criticism from European

independent music labels group Impala, which said it would

further entrench Universal's position across European music

markets and strengthen its control over market access for

independent labels.

Virgin will boost Downtown Music's businesses FUGA, Curve

Royalties, CD Baby, Downtown Music Publishing and Songtrust

after the acquisition, the two co-CEOs said, denying that these

services would be restricted or shut down.

"We see the extraordinary value of investing in and

expanding access to these and other platforms," Virgin Music

Group's co-CEOs Nat Pastor and JT Myers said in a note to staff

on Thursday and seen by Reuters.

They dismissed what they said were suggestions that

Universal's market share had "skyrocketed" since its acquisition

of EMI in 2012.

"The reality is that during this period the independent

sector's market share has grown materially, while UMG's market

share has not," Pastor and Myers said.

They also rejected suggestions that Virgin would exploit

Downtown's customer base to gain a competitive edge for

Universal.

"We're proud to say that since the day we entered this

business, we have never had a single complaint of misuse of

client information of any kind," Pastor and Myers wrote.