September 1934; 90 years ago (1934-09) (American branch ofDecca Records) 1972; 53 years ago (1972) (asMCA Records) December 9, 1996; 28 years ago (1996-12-09) (Current form)
Universal Music Group N.V.[3] (often abbreviated asUMG and referred to asUniversal Music Group orUniversal Music) is aDutch–American multinationalmusic corporation underDutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located inHilversum,Netherlands, and its operational headquarters are located inSanta Monica, California.[4][5] The biggest music company in the world,[6] it is one of the "Big Three" record labels, along withSony Music Entertainment andWarner Music Group.Tencent acquired ten percent of Universal Music Group in March 2020 for €3 billion[7][8][9] and acquired an additional ten percent stake in January 2021.[10]Pershing Square Holdings later acquired ten percent of UMG prior to itsIPO on theEuronext Amsterdam stock exchange. The FrenchBolloré family still owns 28 percent of UMG (18 percent directly, and ten percent throughVivendi, the Bolloré family's investment company). The company went public on September 21, 2021, at a valuation of €46 billion.[11][12]
As of April 2024, UMG's catalogue includes over 3 million recordings and 4 million compositions.
The company's origins go back to the formation of the American branch ofDecca Records in September 1934, and its name and company logo originate fromCarl Laemmle'sUniversal Pictures. Although the movie studio and the music business share a common history, today the former is part ofComcast and the latter an independent commercial entity.[13][14] DuringWorld War II, many record companies donated theirmetal masters to recycling for the war effort. However, Universal was an exception and donated more than 200,000 of their historicmaster recordings to theLibrary of Congress.[15] The Decca Record Co. Ltd. of England spun American Decca off in 1939.[16]MCA Inc. merged with American Decca in 1962.[17]
In November 1990, Japanese multinational conglomerateMatsushita Electric agreed to acquire MCA for $6.59 billion.[18][19] In 1995,Seagram acquired 80 percent of MCA from Matsushita.[20][21] On December 9, 1996, the company was renamedUniversal Studios, Inc.,[22] and its music division was renamed Universal Music Group; MCA Records continued as a label within the Universal Music Group. In May 1998, Seagram purchasedPolyGram[23] and merged it with Universal Music Group in early 1999.[24] Seagram's entertainment assets were then sold toFrench media conglomerateVivendi in 2000, along with UMG.
2004: Consolidating into a Vivendi subsidiary
In May 2004, Universal Music Group was cast under separate management from Universal Studios, when Vivendi sold 80% of the latter toGeneral Electric, who subsequently merged it withNBC to formNBCUniversal. This came two months after the separation ofWarner Music Group fromTime Warner. In February 2006, Vivendi purchased the remaining 20 percent of UMG fromMatsushita Electric.[25] On September 6, 2006, Vivendi announced its €1.63 billion ($2.4 billion) purchase ofBMG Music Publishing; after receiving European Union regulatory approval, the acquisition was completed on June 25, 2007.[26][27]
2007–2012: UMG acquisitions and EMI purchase
In June 2007, UMG acquired Sanctuary, which eventually became UMG's entertainment merchandising and brand management division, Bravado.[28][29][30][31] In 2008, Universal Music Group agreed to make its catalog available toSpotify, then a new streaming service, for use outside the U.S. on a limited basis.[32]
Doug Morris stepped down from his position as CEO on January 1, 2011. Former chairman/CEO of Universal Music InternationalLucian Grainge was promoted toCEO of the company. Grainge later replaced Morris as chairman on March 9, 2011.[33] Morris became the next chairman ofSony Music Entertainment on July 1, 2011.[34] With Grainge's appointment as CEO at UMG,Max Hole was promoted to COO of UMGI, effective July 1, 2010. In January 2011, UMG announced it was donating 200,000 master recordings from the 1920s to 1940s to theLibrary of Congress for preservation.[35] In 2011, EMI agreed to sell its recorded music operations to Universal Music Group for £1.2 billion ($1.9 billion) and its music publishing operations to aSony-led consortium for $2.2 billion.[36] Among the other companies that had competed for the recorded music business wasWarner Music Group which was reported to have made a $2 billion bid.[37]IMPALA opposed the merger.[38] In March 2012, theEuropean Union opened an investigation into the acquisition[39] The EU asked rivals and consumer groups whether the deal would result in higher prices and shut out competitors.[40]
2012–2017: EMI integration and divisions reorganization
Universal Music Group completed their acquisition ofEMI on September 28, 2012.[44] In November 2012,Steve Barnett was appointed chairman and CEO ofCapitol Music Group. He formerly served as COO ofColumbia Records.[45] In compliance the conditions of the European Commission after purchase of EMI, Universal Music Group sold the Mute catalogue to the German-basedBMG Rights Management on December 22, 2012.[46] Two months later, BMG acquiredSanctuary Records for €50 million ($58 million).[47] On February 8, 2013,Warner Music Group acquired the Parlophone Label Group (consisting ofParlophone Records,Chrysalis Records,EMI Classics,Virgin Classics and EMI Records' Belgian, Czech, Danish, French, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Slovak and Swedish divisions) for $765 million (£487 million).[48][49] Later in February,Sony Music Entertainment acquired UMG's European share inNow That's What I Call Music for approximately $60 million.[50]Play It Again Sam acquired Co-Operative Music for £500,000 in March 2013.[51] With EMI's absorption into Universal Music complete, its British operations consist of five label units: Island, Polydor, Decca, Virgin EMI and Capitol.[52] In the Greek market, as part of its divestiture plans, Universal Music retained Minos EMI and sold Universal Music Greece to Greek investors who renamed it Cobalt Music.[53][54]Edel AG acquired the MPS catalogue from Universal in January 2014.[55]
On March 20, 2013, UMG announced the worldwide extension of their exclusive distribution deal with theDisney Music Group, excluding Japan. As a result of this deal DMG's labels and artists have access to UMG's roster of producers and songwriters on a worldwide basis.[56] The exclusive deal also saw UMG granted unlimited access to all rights pertaining to Disney's 85-year back catalog of soundtracks and albums.[57] On April 2, 2013, the gospel music divisions ofMotown Records and EMI merged to form a new label called Motown Gospel.[58] In May 2013, Japanese companySoftBank offered $8.5 billion to Vivendi for the acquisition of UMG, but Vivendi rejected it.[59] In July 2018, JPMorgan said that UMG could be worth as much as $40 billion[60] and then increased the valuation to $50 billion in 2019.[61] In August 2013, UMG became the first company in the US to have nine of the Top 10 songs on the digital charts, according toSoundScan[62] and weeks later, became the first company to hold all 10 of the Top 10 spots on theBillboard Hot 100 Chart.[63] In September 2013, UMG received aSAG-AFTRA American Scene Award for the company's commitment to diversity as exemplified by its "entire catalog and roster of artists."[64][65]
On April 1, 2014, Universal Music announced the disbandment ofIsland Def Jam Music, one of four operational umbrella groups within Universal Music. Universal CEOLucian Grainge said of the closure, "No matter how much we might work to build 'IDJ' as a brand, that brand could never be as powerful as each of IDJ's constituent parts."[66]Island Records andDef Jam now operate as autonomous record labels. David Massey and Bartels, who worked respectively at Island and Def Jam Records, were named to the new record labels independently.[66]Barry Weiss, who previously moved fromSony Music to lead Island Def Jam Music in 2012 whenMotown Records was incorporated into Island Def Jam, stepped down from Universal Music. Additionally, as part of the changes to the labels, Motown Records transferred to Los Angeles to become part of theCapitol Music Group and previous Vice PresidentEthiopia Habtemariam was promoted to Label President for Motown Records.[66]
Universal Music Group entered into film and TV production with the 2014 purchase ofEagle Rock Entertainment. UMG's first major film production wasAmy, which won an Oscar for Best Documentary,[67] while taking part inKurt Cobain: Montage of Heck andThe Beatles: Eight Days a Week documentaries. In January 2016, UMG hired David Blackman from Laurence Mark Production where he was president of production as head of film and television development and production, and theater producer Scott Landis as special advisor on theatrical development and production. UMG Executive Vice President Michele Anthony and Universal Music Publishing Group Chairman and CEO Jody Gerson have oversight of the pair.[68] On February 11, 2017,PolyGram Entertainment was relaunched as a film and television unit of Universal Music Group under David Blackman.[69]
In August 2017, UMG andGrace/Beyond agreed to develop three new music-based television series,27,Melody Island andMixtape.27 would focus on musicians at the age of 27, an age at whichseveral iconic musicians died.Melody Island was an animated series based on tropical island music with live craft segments.Mixtape had twelve episodes, with each episode connected to a song.[80] In October 2017, UMG announced the launch of its Accelerator Engagement Network, an initiative aimed to help develop music-based startups around the world.[81] In November 2017,USC Annenberg announced UMG's partnership in the "Annenberg Inclusion Initiative", becoming the first music company to do so. The initiative is meant to create change for representation of women and underrepresented racial and ethnic groups in the media industry.[82][83] In December 2017, Universal Music Group acquiredStiff andZTT labels, along with Perfect Songs Publishing, fromTrevor Horn's SPZ Group;[84]BMG Rights Management, through Union Square Music subsidiary, retained its back catalogues. That same month, UMG signed a global, multi-year agreement with Facebook becoming the first of The "Big Three" to license its recorded music and publishing catalogs for video and other social experiences acrossFacebook,Instagram andOculus.[85] Sony and Warner signed similar contracts with Facebook the following year. Furthermore, on December 19, 2017, UMG signed a multi-year licensing agreement withYouTube.[86]
2018–2022: Continued growth, Tencent, public offering
In June 2018,Universal Music Japan announced an exclusive license agreement withDisney Music Group.[87] With the addition of Japan, UMG distributes releases from Disney Music Group globally. In July,the Rolling Stones signed a worldwide agreement with UMG covering the band's recorded music and audio-visual catalogues, archival support, global merchandising and brand management.[88] That same month, Vivendi announced it would explore selling as much as half of Universal Music Group to one or more investors.[89][90] InNielsen's 2018 US Music Mid-Year report, UMG made history with eight of the Top 10 artists, including all of the top five, as well as all of the top eight artists ranked by on-demand audio streams.[91] In August 2018, UMG announced a strategic expansion in Africa, opening an office inAbidjan to oversee French-speaking Africa, and also unveiling a Universal Music Nigeria office inLagos to focus on signing local artists and taking them global.[92][93] In September 2018, singerElton John signed a global partnership agreement with UMG across recorded music, music publishing, brand management, and licensing rights.[94]
On November 19, 2018, singer-songwriterTaylor Swift signed a new multi-album deal with UMG, in the United States, her future releases will be promoted under theRepublic Records imprint. In addition to the promised ownership of her master recordings, UMG agreed to, in case it sells portions of its stake inSpotify, distribute proceeds among its artists and make them non-recoupable.[95][96][97] In December 2018,Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" became the most-streamed song from the pre-streaming era and the most-streamed classic rock song of all time.[98] In February 2019, UMG fully acquired music distributorINgrooves.[99] In June 2019, YouTube and UMG announced that they were upgrading more than 1,000 popular music videos to high definition, releasing them through 2020.[100] In August 2019,Tencent andVivendi started negotiation to sell 10% Vivendi's stake of Universal Music to Tencent.[101] The deal is expected to be of $3.36 billion.[102]
In February 2020,Vivendi announced it was planning to go public in an IPO within three years.[103] On June 16, 2020, Universal rebranded Virgin EMI Records as EMI Records and named Rebecca Allen (former president of UMG's Decca label) as the label's president,[104] bringing back the EMI brand. The same day, UMG announced launch of its new affiliates in Morocco and Israel.[105] In July 2020, UMG signed a new multi-year licensing agreement withSpotify[106] In June 2021,Pershing Square Tontine Holdings, aspecial-purpose acquisition company run by investor Bill Ackman, announced it would acquire 10 percent of UMG before it went public, in a $4 billion transaction. The deal collapsed in July 2021 due to regulatory concerns, and it was announced that Ackman'sPershing Square Holdings would complete the purchase instead.[107] In September 2021,IPO,Euronext Amsterdam announces an introduction price of €18,50[clarification needed] andVivendi set an initial valuation for UMG at €33 billion ($38.3 billion). Vivendi distributed 60% of its UMG shares and retaining 10%. The family of French businessmanVincent Bolloré is revealed as the majority shareholder with 28% of UMG shares, through its holding companyBolloré (18%) and its subsidiaryVivendi (10%), headed by his sonYannick Bolloré.Tencent emerged as UMG's biggest corporate shareholder with 20% of shares.Pershing Square Holdings held 10% of UMG shares. In its IPO, UMG hits €54 billion ($62.6 billion) valuation which is over a third bigger than initial valuation.[11]
In January 2022, UMG (throughINgrooves) acquired the Icelandic record label Alda Music, which owned the rights to nearly 80 percent of all music released in Iceland.[108] In February 2022, Universal Music Group announced a partnership with Curio, anNFT platform, to create NFT collections for its record labels and artists.[109] On May 31, 2022, Universal Music Group announced Baa1/BBB long-term credit ratings from Moody's and S&P.[110] In October 2022, Mercedes-Benz launched a new in-car audio collaboration with Apple Music and Universal Music Group. With this new audio standard, UMG allows its artists to base their song approval process on how the final mix sounds in a Mercedes‑Benz and introduced the "Approved in a Mercedes‑Benz" label as a standard.[111] In November 2022, Universal Music Group acquired a 49% stake in Play It Again Sam (PIAS Group), which brings together a series of independent labels.[112]
2023–present: Appointment of Sherry Lansing, 2024 earnings call and restructuring
In January 2023,Sherry Lansing was named the Chairman of Board of Directors of the Universal Music Group.[113] In August 2023, it was announced UMG had acquired theUAE-based music marketing, digital publishing and distribution agency, Chabaka.[114][115] In 2023, Universal Music Group andDeezer announced their initiative to explore potential new business models for music streaming that better recognize the value created by artists.[116][117] Indeed, in September 2023, they announced their launch of an artist-centric streaming model designed to better remunerate the artists and music that fans mostly enjoy.[118][119] Also in 2023, Universal Music Group introduced a HBCU scholarship program for aspiring doctors.[120][121]
In October 2023, UMG andBandLab Technologies formed a partnership to protect the rights of artists as well as songwriters and guarantee the 'ethical use' of Artificial Intelligence (AI).[122][123][124] Also in October 2023, UMG formed a new partnership withBMG Rights Management to develop collaborative initiatives to enlarge opportunities for BMG-signed artists all over the world.[125] Unable to reach a licensing agreement with TikTok, UMG removed its music from the platform in January 2024,[126] During UMG's fourth-quarter earnings call on February 29, Grainge said: "There must not be free rides for massive global platforms such as TikTok." The company reported that quarterly revenue rose 9 percent, to 3.2 billion euros ($3.5 billion).[127] Following the earnings call, UMG began a "strategic organizational redesign" that included company-wide layoffs.[128]
Universal Music Group co-developed with Google[129][130]Vevo, a site designed for music videos inspired byHulu, which similarly allows free ad-supported streaming of videos and other music content.[131]
On May 24, 2018, Vevo announced that it would no longer continue distributing videos to Vevo.com, instead opting to primarily focus onYouTube syndication.[132]
Locations
Los Angeles metropolitan area
Santa Monica
Universal Music Publishing Headquarters in Santa Monica, California
Universal Music Spain is based inMadrid, Spain.[136]
London
Universal Music Group Global (formerly known asUniversal Music Group International (UMGI)) operates offices in London.[137]
Berlin
Universal Music GmbH, the German subsidiary, is headquartered inBerlin. It moved in 2002 from Hamburg to the districtFriedrichshain at the riverSpree. In February 2024 the company moved out of the iconic building also called "Eierspeicher" into another office down the street.
UMG operates in more than 60 territories around the world including Australia, Central America, Brazil, France, India, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Sub-Saharan Africa, Central and Eastern Europe, New Zealand, Russia, Ukraine, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and more.[136] Company's legal headquarters are in the Netherlands. Universal Music Group's largest corporate shareholder,Tencent, is headquartered inShenzhen, China. Tencent's ultimate largest controlling corporate shareholder,Naspers, is headquartered inCape Town, South Africa.[140]
In 2000, music companies including UMG entered into consent agreements with theFederal Trade Commission,[146] with no admission of liability,[147] whereby they agreed to discontinue the use ofMinimum Advertised Price programs under which subsidized cooperative advertising was provided to retailers that agreed to adhere to minimum advertised pricing.[146]
In 2002, a similar settlement was entered into with music publishers and distributorsSony Music,Warner Music,Bertelsmann Music Group,EMI Music and Universal Music Group and certain retailers, without admission of liability or wrongdoing, with various states. In settlement of the claim, the companies collectively agreed to pay a $67.4 million fine and distribute $75.7 million inCDs to public and non-profit groups.[147] It was estimated that consumers were overcharged by $500 million and up to $5 per album.[148]
In 2007, with the help of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Stephanie Lenz sued UMG's publishing company for allegedly improperly requesting that, pursuant to theDigital Millennium Copyright Act, YouTube remove a 29-second home video in which Lenz's child danced to a recording ofPrince's song "Let's Go Crazy".[150] After years of litigation, the suit settled in 2018, prior to the court holding a trial on whether UMG had a subjective belief that the video was infringing and not fair to use before sending its request to YouTube.[151][152][153] In April 2016, UMG had the audio muted of a video clip showingKatherine Jenkins singing the British national anthem. They claimed that the recording of "God Save the Queen" was copyrighted, and YouTube initially complied with this request, but subsequently offered the video with the original audio track.[154]
Imeem
In December 2007, UMG announced a deal withImeem that allowed users of the social network to listen to any track from Universal's catalogue for free with a portion of the advertising generated by the music being shared with the record label.[155] All traffic was redirected toMySpace after that company acquiredImeem on December 8, 2009.[156]
According to Jody Rosen ofThe New York Times, the fire which swept throughUniversal Studios Hollywood on June 1, 2008, caused "the biggest disaster in the history of the music business".[157] In space rented from NBCUniversal, according to an official document marked "Confidential", the fire destroyed at least 118,230 "assets" (master recordings), or about 500,000 song titles, owned by UMG. "The vault housed tape masters forDecca, the pop, jazz and classical powerhouse; it housed master tapes for the storied blues labelChess; it housed masters forImpulse!, the groundbreaking jazz label. The vault held masters for the MCA, ABC, A&M, Geffen and Interscope labels; as well as some smaller subsidiary labels. Nearly all of these masters—in some cases, the complete discographies of entire record labels—were wiped out in the fire."[157][158] In a statement issued on June 11, 2019, UMG saidThe New York Times article contained "numerous inaccuracies, misleading statements, contradictions and fundamental misunderstandings of the scope of the incident and affected assets."[159]
Following the publication of theNew York Times story,Questlove ofThe Roots confirmed that the master tapes for two of the band's albums, including unused material and multi-track recordings, were lost in the fire.[160] Similarly,Nirvana bassistKrist Novoselic said he believed the masters for the band's 1991 albumNevermind were "gone forever" as a result of the fire.[161] Representatives forR.E.M. announced they would investigate the effects the fire may have had on the band's archival materials, whileHole,Steely Dan,Rosanne Cash andGeoff Downes made statements on their possible losses from the fire.[161][162]
A representative forEminem confirmed that the rapper's master recordings were digitized months before the fire, but could not confirm whether the physical master reels of his recordings were affected.[163] UMG archivist Patrick Kraus assured that theImpulse! Records,John Coltrane,Muddy Waters,Ahmad Jamal,Nashboro Records, andChess Records masters survived the fire and were still in Universal's archive.[164]
Howard King filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles on June 21, 2019, on behalf ofSoundgarden,Hole,Steve Earle, the estate ofTupac Shakur and a former wife ofTom Petty that seeks class action status for artists whose master recordings were believed to have been destroyed in the Universal Studios fire.[165][166]
UMG denied that the takedown was ordered under the terms of theDigital Millennium Copyright Act, and said that the takedown was "pursuant to the UMG-YouTube agreement," which gives UMG "the right to block or remove user-posted videos through YouTube's CMS (Content Management System) based on a number of contractually specified criteria."[171] The video was subsequently returned to YouTube, with the reasons for the UMG takedown remaining unclear.[172] Lawyers forwill.i.am initially claimed that he had never agreed to the project, and on December 12, he denied any involvement in the takedown notice.[173] Megaupload dismissed its case against UMG in January 2012 following theclosure of the site by US authorities.[174]
Copyright termination lawsuit
On February 5, 2019,John Waite andJoe Ely filed a class-action lawsuit against UMG claiming that the company was violating their right to terminate grants of copyright after 35 years in accordance withcopyright law of the United States by ignoring Notices of Termination. On May 3, 2019, UMG filed a motion to dismiss the case, stating the Notices of Termination were not valid because the songs were not grants of copyright butworks for hire.[175]
Removal of UMG songs from TikTok
On February 1, 2024, music released by UMG was muted or removed fromTikTok after UMG and TikTok failed to reach a licensing agreement.[176] The companies reached an agreement in May 2024 after which UMG's music was restored.[177]
In a November 2024 pre-action petition, rapperDrake sought discovery from UMG and Spotify because they may have illegally conspired to use bots andpayola to artificially inflate streams of Kendrick Lamar's song "Not Like Us" in violation of the federalRacketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act and violated New York state law against deceptive business practices and false advertising.[178] UMG denied the claims in a statement, calling Drake's legal arguments "contrived and absurd".[178]
^Adegoke, Yinka (May 25, 2007)."Universal Music closes on BMG".Reuters. Thomson Reuters.Archived from the original on December 27, 2008. RetrievedNovember 20, 2008.