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Universal Music Group N.V. [3] (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Dutch – American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its operational headquarters are located in Santa Monica, California.
- September 1934; 89 years ago
- 8,319 (2018)
With offices in more than 60 territories, Universal Music Group N.V. (“Universal Music Group” or “UMG”) is the world leader in music-based entertainment. Universal Music Group’s corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its operational headquarters are located in Santa Monica, California, USA.
People also ask
What happened to MCA Records?
What happened to MCA?
When did MCA become Universal Records?
Who owns MCA Records?
Today, the only operation by MCA that survives is MCA Nashville. MCA Records. 100 Universal Plaza. Los Angeles CA 91608. MCA was founded as a music booking agency based in Chicago, Illinois in 1924 by Jules Stein. MCA helped pioneer modern practices of touring bands and name acts.
Jun 19, 2003 · Morris taps Boberg as President of the label. The Pulp Fiction soundtrack is MCA’s best-selling album. 1996: MCA Music Entertainment Group acquires the 50% of Interscope Records the label took back from WMG for a cool $200 million. MCA Music Entertainment Group is then renamed Universal Music Group.
- Overview
- History
- Labels
- Vevo
- Locations
- Legal issues
- See also
- References
- External links
Universal Music Group (also known in the United States as UMG Recordings, Inc. and abbreviated as UMG) is an American global music corporation that is a subsidiary of the French media conglomerate Vivendi. UMG's global corporate headquarters are located in Santa Monica, California. It is considered one of the "Big Three" music companies, along with...
Early history
Universal Music was once the record company attached to film studio Universal Pictures. The company's origins go back to the formation of the American branch of Decca Records in September 1934. The Decca Record Co. Ltd. of England spun American Decca off in 1939. MCA Inc. merged with American Decca in 1962. In November 1990, Japanese multinational conglomerate Matsushita Electric agreed to acquire MCA for $6.59 billion. In 1995, Seagram acquired 80 percent of MCA from Matsushita. On December 9, 1996, the company was renamed Universal Studios, Inc., and its music division was renamed Universal Music Group; MCA Records continued as a label within the Universal Music Group. In May 1998, Seagram purchased PolyGram and merged it with Universal Music Group in early 1999.
Vivendi subsidiary
In May 2004, Universal Music Group was cast under separate management from Universal Studios, when French media conglomerate Vivendi sold 80% of the latter to General Electric, who subsequently merged it with NBC to form NBCUniversal. This came two months after the separation of Warner Music Group from Time Warner. In February 2006, Vivendi purchased the remaining 20 percent of UMG from Matsushita. On September 6, 2006, Vivendi announced its €1.63 billion ($2.4 billion) purchase of BMG Music Publishing; after receiving European Union regulatory approval, the acquisition was completed on June 25, 2007.
2007–2012 and EMI purchase
In June 2007, UMG acquired Sanctuary, which eventually became UMG's entertainment merchandising and brand management division, Bravado. The company represents artists such as Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, and Kanye West, and has partnered with retailers including Barneys, Bloomingdale's and Selfridges. In 2008, Universal Music Group agreed to make its catalog available to Spotify, then a new streaming service, for use outside the U.S. on a limited basis. With Lucian Grainge's appointment as CEO at UMG, Max Hole was promoted to COO of UMGI, effective July 1, 2010. Doug Morris stepped down from his position as CEO on January 1, 2011. Former chairman/CEO of Universal Music International Lucian Grainge was promoted to CEO of the company. Grainge later replaced him as chairman on March 9, 2011. Morris became the next chairman of Sony Music Entertainment on July 1, 2011. With Grainge's appointment as CEO at UMG, Max Hole was promoted to COO of UMGI, effective July 1, 2010. Starting in 2011 UMG's Interscope Geffen A&M Records began signing contestants from American Idol/Idol series. In January 2011, UMG announced it was donating 200,000 master recordings from the 1920s to 1940s to the Library of Congress for preservation. 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 a Sony-led consortium for $2.2 billion. Among the other companies that had competed for the recorded music business was Warner Music Group which was reported to have made a $2 billion bid. IMPALA opposed the merger. In March 2012, the European Union opened an investigation into the acquisition The EU asked rivals and consumer groups whether the deal would result in higher prices and shut out competitors. On September 21, 2012, the sale of EMI to UMG was approved in Europe and the United States by the European Commission and Federal Trade Commission respectively. However, the European Commission approved the deal only under the condition the merged company divest one third of its total operations to other companies with a proven track record in the music industry. UMG divested Mute Records, Parlophone, Roxy Recordings, MPS Records, Cooperative Music, Now That's What I Call Music!, Jazzland, Universal Greece, Sanctuary Records, Chrysalis Records, EMI Classics, Virgin Classics, and EMI's European regional labels to comply with this condition. UMG retained The Beatles (formerly of Parlophone) and Robbie Williams (formerly of Chrysalis). The Beatles catalogue was transferred to UMG's newly formed Calderstone Productions , while Williams' catalogue was transferred to Island Records.
Further information: List of Universal Music Group labels
Universal Music Group co-developed Vevo, a site designed for music videos inspired by Hulu.com, which similarly allows free ad-supported streaming of videos and other music content.
On May 24, 2018, Vevo announced that it would no longer continue distributing videos to Vevo.com, instead opting to primarily focus on YouTube syndication.
Los Angeles metropolitan area Miami
Universal Music Latin America is headquartered in Miami, Florida.
Nashville
Universal Music Group Nashville is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee.
New York City
UMG has offices in New York City where Island Records, Def Jam Recordings, Republic Records, Verve Label Group, and Spinefarm Records are headquartered.
CD price fixing
Main article: CD price fixing In 2000, music companies including UMG entered into consent agreements with the Federal Trade Commission,[105] with no admission of liability,[106] whereby they agreed to discontinue the use of Minimum Advertised Price programs under which subsidized cooperative advertising was provided to retailers that agreed to adhere to minimum advertised pricing.[105] In 2002, a similar settlement was entered into with music publishers and distributors Sony 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 in CDs to public and non-profit groups.[106] It was estimated that consumers were overcharged by $500 million and up to $5 per album.[107]
Payola
In May 2006, an investigation led by then New York Attorney General, Eliot Spitzer, concluded with a determination that Universal Music Group bribed radio stations to play songs from Ashlee Simpson, Brian McKnight, Big Tymers, Nick Lachey, Lindsay Lohan and other performers under Universal labels. The company paid $12 million to the state in settlement.[108]
YouTube
In 2007, with the help of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Stephanie Lenz sued UMG's publishing company for allegedly improperly requesting that, pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, YouTube remove a 29-second home video in which Lenz's child danced to a recording of Prince's song "Let's Go Crazy".[109] 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.[110][111][112] In April 2016, UMG had the audio muted of a video clip showing Katherine 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.[113]
1.^ Christman, Ed. "Universal Music Group 2018 Earnings: Revenue Tops $7.1B as Streaming Spikes 31 Percent". Billboard. Retrieved May 30, 2019.
2.^ "Vivendi Annual Report 2018" (PDF). Vivendi. Retrieved May 30, 2019.
3.^ Jump up to:a b "The World's Most Innovative Companies 2019: Music Honorees". Fast Company. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
4.^ Jump up to:a b McCorvey, J. J. (February 19, 2019). "How $33 billion Universal Music Group is redefining the modern music label". Fast Company. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
5.^ "Music - Vivendi". www.vivendi.com. Retrieved May 8,2019.
6.^ "The Origin & Many Uses of Shellac by R.J. Wakeman". AntiquePhono.org. May 6, 2015. Retrieved April 16, 2016.
• Media related to Universal Music Group at Wikimedia Commons
•Official website
•UMG History page
•Universal Music Group's channel on YouTube
In 1996 MCA Inc. was renamed Universal Studios, Inc., and the MCA Music Entertainment Group was renamed Universal Music Group. That year Hip-O Records was also founded, and a 50 percent interest in Interscope Records was acquired. CHRONOLOGY: Key Dates for Universal Music Group 1898: The Siemens Company founds Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft ...
Official website. www .mercuryrecords .com. www .mercurykx .com. Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. [1]
