Universal Music Group facts for kids
 |
|
Operational headquarters in Santa Monica, California
|
|
|
Formerly
|
|
|---|---|
| Public (N.V.) | |
| Traded as |
|
| ISIN | ISIN: [https://isin.toolforge.org/?language=en&isin=NL0015000IY2 NL0015000IY2] |
| Industry | |
| Founded | September 1934 |
| Headquarters |
,
U.S. (operational)
|
|
Area served
|
Worldwide (except for Russia & Belarus) |
|
Key people
|
|
| Services | Music publishing |
| Revenue |  €8.504 billion (US$Lua error in Module:Math at line 586: attempt to call field '?' (a nil value). billion) (2021) |
|
Operating income
|
€1.399 billion (US$Lua error in Module:Math at line 586: attempt to call field '?' (a nil value). billion) (2021) |
| Owners |
|
|
Number of employees
|
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 from the Netherlands and the United States. It's the biggest music company in the world! UMG is one of the "Big Three" record labels, along with Sony Music and Warner Music Group.
UMG's main office is in Hilversum, Netherlands. Its operations headquarters are in Santa Monica, California. In 2020 and 2021, a company called Tencent bought 20% of Universal Music Group. Another company, Pershing Square Holdings, also bought 10% before UMG became a public company in 2021. This means its shares can be bought and sold on the stock market. As of 2024, UMG has over 3 million recordings and 4 million songs in its collection.
Contents
The Story of Universal Music Group
How It All Started
The company's story began in September 1934 with the American branch of Decca Records. The name and logo come from Carl Laemmle's Universal Pictures. Even though they share history, the movie studio is now part of Comcast, and Universal Music is its own separate company.
During World War II, many record companies gave their metal record masters to be recycled for the war effort. But Universal was different! They gave over 200,000 of their old recordings to the Library of Congress to be saved.
In 1962, a company called MCA Inc. joined with American Decca. Later, in 1995, another company called Seagram bought most of MCA. In 1996, the music part of the company was renamed Universal Music Group. Then, in 1998, Seagram bought PolyGram and combined it with Universal Music Group.
Becoming Its Own Company
In 2004, Universal Music Group became a separate company from Universal Studios. This happened when a French media company called Vivendi sold most of Universal Studios. Vivendi had owned UMG since 2000. In 2006, Vivendi bought the rest of UMG.
In 2007, UMG bought BMG Music Publishing, which meant they owned even more songs. They also bought Sanctuary, which became their division for selling merchandise and managing brands, called Bravado.
Streaming and New Leaders
In 2008, Universal Music Group made its huge collection of music available to Spotify. Spotify was a new streaming service at the time. This helped people listen to music online.
In 2011, Lucian Grainge became the new CEO of Universal Music Group. He is still the Chairman and CEO today. Also in 2011, UMG gave another 200,000 old recordings to the Library of Congress to be saved.
Buying EMI and Growing Bigger
In 2011, UMG agreed to buy most of EMI, another big music company. This deal was approved in 2012 by regulators in Europe and the US. However, UMG had to sell off some of EMI's labels to make sure there was still fair competition in the music industry. UMG kept famous artists like the Beatles and Robbie Williams.
After buying EMI, Universal Music Group became even bigger. They reorganized their labels, like Island Records, Polydor Records, and Capitol Records.
In 2013, UMG made a deal with Disney Music Group. This meant UMG would help distribute Disney's music around the world. In the same year, UMG made history by having nine of the top ten songs on the digital charts in the US. A few weeks later, they had all ten of the top ten songs on the Billboard Hot 100 chart!
In 2014, UMG started making films and TV shows by buying Eagle Rock Entertainment. They helped produce movies like Amy, which won an Oscar. In 2017, they brought back PolyGram Entertainment to focus on film and TV.
In 2016, famous artists like Paul McCartney and the Bee Gees signed with UMG's Capitol Records. In 2017, UMG signed new deals with Spotify and Tencent, a big Chinese tech company. That same year, "Despacito" by Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee, and Justin Bieber became the most streamed song ever.
Recent Years and Going Public
In 2018, the Rolling Stones signed a big deal with UMG for their music and merchandise. Also, Elton John signed a global partnership with UMG. In November 2018, Taylor Swift signed a new deal with UMG. This deal gave her ownership of her master recordings. UMG also agreed to share money with its artists if it sold parts of its stake in Spotify.
In 2019, Queen's song "Bohemian Rhapsody" became the most-streamed song from before the streaming era. In 2020, Universal brought back the EMI Records brand.
In September 2021, Universal Music Group became a public company on the Euronext Amsterdam stock exchange. This was a big moment for the company. The Bolloré family became the largest shareholder, owning 28% of UMG shares. Tencent owns 20%, and Pershing Square Holdings owns 10%.
In 2022, UMG partnered with Curio, an NFT platform, to create NFT collections for its artists. In October 2022, UMG worked with Mercedes-Benz and Apple Music to create a new high-quality in-car audio system.
New Ideas and Challenges
In 2023, Sherry Lansing became the Chairman of the Board of Directors for UMG. UMG also started working with Deezer to find new ways to pay artists fairly from music streaming. They also launched a scholarship program for aspiring doctors from HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities).
UMG also partnered with BandLab Technologies to protect artists' rights and ensure that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is used ethically in music.
In January 2024, UMG removed its music from TikTok because they couldn't agree on a new licensing deal. UMG's CEO, Lucian Grainge, said that big platforms like TikTok shouldn't get "free rides" with their music.
What Universal Music Group Does
UMG is a huge company that works with many different music labels. They help artists record, promote, and distribute their music around the world.
Vevo
Universal Music Group helped create Vevo with Google. Vevo is a website for music videos, similar to Hulu. It allows people to watch music videos and other music content for free, with ads. In 2018, Vevo decided to focus mainly on sharing videos through YouTube.
Where Universal Music Group Is Located
UMG has offices all over the world!
In the United States
- Santa Monica, California: This is where UMG's main operations are. Many important labels like Interscope-Geffen-A&M, Def Jam, Island, and Republic Records have offices here. The CEO, Lucian Grainge, is also based here.
- Hollywood, California: Capitol Music Group is located in the famous Capitol Records Building.
- Woodland Hills, California: UMG has another office here for finance and operations.
- Miami, Florida: Universal Music Latin Entertainment, which focuses on Latin music, is based here.
- Nashville, Tennessee: Universal Music Group Nashville, which works with country music, is located here.
- New York City: Many labels like Island Records, Def Jam Recordings, and Republic Records have headquarters here.
Around the World
- Madrid, Spain: Universal Music Spain is based in Madrid.
- London, UK: Universal Music Group Global has offices in London.
- Berlin, Germany: Universal Music GmbH, the German branch, is in Berlin.
- Warsaw, Poland: Universal Music Polska is located in Warsaw.
- Toronto, Canada: Universal Music Canada is in Toronto.
- Tokyo, Japan: Universal Music Japan is headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo.
UMG also has offices in over 60 other places worldwide, including Australia, Brazil, France, India, China, South Korea, and many more countries. In 2022, UMG stopped all its operations in Russia after the country's invasion of Ukraine. In 2023, UMG opened a new office in Casablanca, Morocco.
Who Owns Universal Music Group
As of January 2022, the company's shares are owned by:
- Vincent Bolloré: 28% (through his companies Bolloré SE and Vivendi SE)
- Tencent: 20%
- Pershing Square Holdings: 10%
Images for kids
-
Universal Music Publishing Headquarters in Santa Monica, California
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
