Universal Music Group facts for kids
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Operational headquarters in Santa Monica, California
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Formerly
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| ISIN | ISIN: [https://isin.toolforge.org/?language=en&isin=NL0015000IY2 NL0015000IY2] |
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| Founded | September 1934 (American branch of Decca Records) 1972 (as MCA Records) 9 December 1996 (Current form) |
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U.S. (operational)
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Area served
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Worldwide (except for Russia & Belarus) |
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Key people
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| Services | Music publishing |
| Revenue |  €11.108 billion (US$Lua error in Module:Math at line 586: attempt to call field '?' (a nil value). billion) (2023) |
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Operating income
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 €1.418 billion (US$Lua error in Module:Math at line 586: attempt to call field '?' (a nil value). billion) (2023) |
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Number of employees
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8,319 (2018) |
| Divisions | List of Universal Music Group labels |
Universal Music Group N.V. (often called UMG or Universal Music) is a huge music company. It has offices in the Netherlands and the United States. UMG's main office is in Hilversum, Netherlands. Its operations are run from Santa Monica, California.
UMG is the biggest music company in the world. It is one of the "Big Three" record labels. The other two are Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group. In 2020, Tencent bought 10% of UMG. They bought another 10% in 2021. Pershing Square Holdings also bought 10% of UMG. This happened before UMG started selling its shares to the public. The French Bolloré family owns 28% of UMG. This includes shares through their company Vivendi. UMG started selling its shares on September 21, 2021. The company was valued at €46 billion then.
As of April 2024, UMG has a huge collection of music. It includes over three million recordings. It also has four million songs.
History of Universal Music Group
How UMG Started
The company began as the American part of Decca Records in September 1934. Its name and logo come from Carl Laemmle's Universal Pictures. The movie studio and music business used to be connected. Today, Universal Pictures is part of Comcast. Universal Music Group is a separate company.
During World War II, many record companies gave their metal masters for recycling. These masters were used to make records. Universal was different. It gave over 200,000 historic master recordings to the Library of Congress. This helped save old music. In 1939, the English Decca Record Co. Ltd. separated from American Decca. Later, in 1962, MCA Inc. joined with American Decca.
In 1990, Matsushita Electric bought MCA. In 1995, Seagram bought most of MCA from Matsushita. On December 9, 1996, the company changed its name. It became Universal Studios, Inc.. Its music part was renamed Universal Music Group. MCA Records stayed as a label within UMG. In 1998, Seagram bought PolyGram. It combined PolyGram with Universal Music Group in 1999. Then, in 2000, Vivendi bought Seagram's entertainment businesses, including UMG.
Becoming a Vivendi Company
In May 2004, Universal Music Group became a separate company from Universal Studios. Vivendi sold most of Universal Studios to General Electric. This company then joined with NBC to form NBCUniversal. This happened after Warner Music Group separated from Time Warner. In February 2006, Vivendi bought the rest of UMG from Matsushita Electric. On September 6, 2006, Vivendi bought BMG Music Publishing. This deal was completed in June 2007.
UMG's Growth and EMI Purchase
In June 2007, UMG bought Sanctuary. This company became UMG's division for merchandise and brand management, called Bravado. In 2008, Universal Music Group allowed its music to be on Spotify. Spotify was a new music streaming service then.
Doug Morris stopped being CEO on January 1, 2011. Lucian Grainge became the new CEO. He was the former head of Universal Music International. Grainge also became chairman in March 2011. In January 2011, UMG gave 200,000 old master recordings to the Library of Congress. These recordings were from the 1920s to 1940s. This helped preserve them.
In 2011, EMI agreed to sell its music recording business to Universal Music Group. This deal was worth about $1.9 billion. EMI also sold its music publishing business to a group led by Sony. Other companies wanted to buy EMI's music business too. IMPALA was against the merger. In March 2012, the European Union started looking into the deal. They wanted to know if it would cause higher prices.
On September 21, 2012, the sale of EMI to UMG was approved. This happened in Europe and the United States. However, the European Commission said UMG had to sell off some of its businesses. This was to make sure there was fair competition. UMG sold several labels like Mute Records and Parlophone. But UMG kept the Beatles and Robbie Williams. The Beatles' music went to UMG's new company, Calderstone Productions. Robbie Williams' music went to Island Records.
EMI Joins UMG and Company Changes
Universal Music Group finished buying EMI on September 28, 2012. In November 2012, Steve Barnett became the head of Capitol Music Group. UMG sold the Mute catalogue to BMG Rights Management in December 2012. Later, BMG bought Sanctuary Records. In February 2013, Warner Music Group bought the Parlophone Label Group. This included labels like Parlophone Records. Sony Music Entertainment also bought UMG's share in Now That's What I Call Music.
In March 2013, Play It Again Sam bought Co-Operative Music. After EMI joined Universal Music, its British operations had five main labels. These were Island, Polydor, Decca, Virgin EMI, and Capitol. In Greece, Universal Music kept Minos EMI. It sold Universal Music Greece to local investors. They renamed it Cobalt Music. Edel AG bought the MPS catalogue from Universal in January 2014.
On March 20, 2013, UMG announced a deal with the Disney Music Group. This deal meant UMG would distribute Disney's music worldwide, except in Japan. Disney artists could work with UMG's producers. UMG also got access to Disney's old music. On April 2, 2013, the gospel music parts of Motown Records and EMI joined. They formed a new label called Motown Gospel.
In May 2013, a Japanese company offered to buy UMG. But Vivendi said no. In August 2013, UMG made history in the US. It had nine of the top 10 songs on the digital charts. Weeks later, it had all 10 of the top 10 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. In September 2013, UMG won an award for its commitment to diversity.
On April 1, 2014, Universal Music closed the Island Def Jam Music Group. This was one of UMG's main groups. Island Records and Def Jam became separate labels. Motown Records moved to Los Angeles. It became part of the Capitol Music Group. Ethiopia Habtemariam became the president of Motown.
UMG also started making films and TV shows. This began with buying Eagle Rock Entertainment in 2014. UMG's first big film was Amy. It won an Oscar for Best Documentary. UMG also helped with other documentaries. In January 2016, UMG hired new people for film and TV. In February 2017, PolyGram Entertainment was relaunched. It became a film and TV unit of UMG.
In 2015, UMG's Capitol Records won many Grammy Awards. Sam Smith won Best New Artist, Record of the Year, and Song of the Year. Beck won Album of the Year. In March 2016, Universal Music Canada gave EMI Music Canada's archives to the University of Calgary. In May 2016, UMG bought Famehouse, a digital marketing company. That same year, Paul McCartney and the Bee Gees signed with UMG's Capitol Records.
In April 2017, UMG signed a new deal with Spotify. In May 2017, UMG signed a deal with Tencent, a big Chinese company. In July 2017, "Despacito" became the most streamed song ever. By 2018, it broke several Guinness World Records.
In August 2017, UMG and Grace/Beyond agreed to make three new music TV shows. In October 2017, UMG started a program to help music startups. In November 2017, UMG joined the "Annenberg Inclusion Initiative." This helps women and diverse groups in media. In December 2017, Universal Music Group bought Stiff and ZTT labels. That same month, UMG signed a deal with Facebook. This allowed Facebook to use UMG's music. Sony and Warner signed similar deals later. UMG also signed a deal with YouTube in December 2017.
Continued Growth and Public Offering
In June 2018, Universal Music Japan signed a deal with Disney Music Group. This meant UMG would distribute Disney music globally. In July, the Rolling Stones signed a deal with UMG. This covered their music, videos, and merchandise. That same month, Vivendi said it might sell part of Universal Music Group. In 2018, UMG had eight of the top 10 artists in the US.
In August 2018, UMG expanded in Africa. It opened offices in Abidjan and Lagos. These offices focus on signing local artists. In September 2018, Elton John signed a deal with UMG. This covered his music, publishing, and brand.
On November 19, 2018, Taylor Swift signed a new deal with UMG. Her future music would be released under Republic Records. UMG also agreed to share money with artists if it sold parts of its shares in Spotify. In December 2018, Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" became the most streamed song from before the streaming era. In February 2019, UMG bought music distributor INgrooves. In June 2019, YouTube and UMG said they would upgrade over 1,000 music videos to high definition. In August 2019, Tencent and Vivendi discussed Tencent buying 10% of UMG.
In February 2020, Vivendi planned for UMG to start selling shares to the public. On June 16, 2020, Universal changed Virgin EMI Records to EMI Records. Rebecca Allen became the president. UMG also opened new offices in Morocco and Israel. In July 2020, UMG signed a new deal with Spotify. In June 2021, Pershing Square Holdings said it would buy 10% of UMG. This deal was worth $4 billion. The deal changed in July 2021. Pershing Square Holdings completed the purchase instead.
In September 2021, UMG started selling its shares to the public. The starting price was €18.50 per share. Vivendi valued UMG at €33 billion. Vivendi gave away 60% of its UMG shares. It kept 10%. The family of French businessman Vincent Bolloré became the main owner. They held 28% of UMG shares. Tencent became UMG's biggest company shareholder with 20%. Pershing Square Holdings held 10%. After selling shares, UMG's value reached €54 billion.
In January 2022, UMG bought Alda Music. This Icelandic record label owned most of the music released in Iceland. In February 2022, Universal Music Group partnered with Curio. This is an NFT platform. They planned to create NFT collections for artists. In May 2022, Universal Music Group received good credit ratings. In October 2022, Mercedes-Benz started a new audio partnership. This was with Apple Music and Universal Music Group. UMG artists could approve their songs based on how they sounded in a Mercedes-Benz. In November 2022, Universal Music Group bought 49% of Play It Again Sam (PIAS Group). This group has many independent labels.
Recent Developments
In January 2023, Sherry Lansing became the Chairman of the Board of Directors for Universal Music Group. In August 2023, UMG bought Chabaka. This company helps with music marketing and distribution in the UAE. In 2023, Universal Music Group and Deezer worked together. They wanted to find new ways for music streaming. They aimed to pay artists better. In September 2023, they launched a new streaming model. This model pays artists more for music fans enjoy most. Also in 2023, Universal Music Group started a scholarship program. It helps students who want to become doctors.
In October 2023, UMG and BandLab Technologies partnered. They wanted to protect artists' rights. They also wanted to ensure 'ethical use' of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Also in October 2023, UMG partnered with BMG Rights Management. They planned to create more opportunities for BMG artists worldwide. UMG removed its music from TikTok in January 2024. This was because they could not agree on a new deal. UMG's CEO said that big platforms like TikTok should not get "free rides." The company reported that its quarterly revenue increased by 9%. After this, UMG started a "strategic organizational redesign." This included some layoffs.
Labels
UMG has many different record labels. You can find a full list of them at List of Universal Music Group labels.
Vevo
Universal Music Group helped create Vevo with Google. Vevo is a website for music videos. It is like Hulu, which offers free videos with ads. Vevo lets you stream music videos and other music content.
On May 24, 2018, Vevo announced a change. It would no longer put videos on Vevo.com. Instead, it would focus mainly on YouTube.
Locations
UMG has offices all over the world.
Los Angeles Area
Santa Monica
UMG's main operational offices are in Santa Monica, California. Many of its labels have offices there. These include Interscope-Geffen-A&M and Universal Music Enterprises (UME). UME handles the company's older music. Def Jam, Island, and Republic Records also have offices in Santa Monica. UMG's CEO, Lucian Grainge, works from these offices. Universal Music Publishing is also based in Santa Monica.
Hollywood
Capitol Music Group has its main office at the Capitol Records Building in Hollywood. Universal Music Latin Entertainment is also based in Hollywood.
Woodland Hills
Universal Music Group has another office in Woodland Hills. This office handles finance, royalties, and other operations.
Miami
Universal Music Latin Entertainment has its main office in Miami, Florida.
Nashville
Universal Music Group Nashville has its main office in Nashville, Tennessee.
New York City
UMG has offices in New York City. Island Records, Def Jam Recordings, Republic Records, Verve Label Group, and Spinefarm Records are based there. By 2027, UMG plans to move its New York offices to PENN 2. This building is next to Madison Square Garden.
Madrid
Universal Music Spain is based in Madrid, Spain.
London
Universal Music Group Global has offices in London.
Berlin
Universal Music GmbH, the German part of UMG, is in Berlin. It moved there in 2002. In February 2024, the company moved to a new office nearby.
Warsaw
Universal Music Group's Universal Music Polska is in Warsaw.
Japan
Universal Music Japan has its main office in Shibuya, Tokyo.
Other Locations
UMG works in over 60 places worldwide. These include Australia, Brazil, France, India, China, and many more. The company's legal headquarters are in the Netherlands. UMG's largest company shareholder, Tencent, is in Shenzhen, China. Tencent's biggest owner, Naspers, is in Cape Town, South Africa.
On March 8, 2022, UMG stopped all its work in Russia. This was after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
In 2023, UMG opened a new office in Casablanca, Morocco.
As of January 2022, these are the main owners of Universal Music Group:
- Bolloré family: 28%
- Bolloré SE: 18%
- Vivendi SE: 10%
- Tencent: 20%
- Concerto Investment BV: 10%
- Scherzo Investment BV: 10%
- Pershing Square Holdings: 10%
See also
In Spanish: Universal Music Group para niños
- List of record labels
- List of Universal Music Group artists
- List of Universal Music Group labels
