97-453: Ardent Records is an American record label based in Memphis , which was founded by John Fry in 1959. Ardent of the 1960s and 1970s featured pop music acts and was distributed by Stax Records from 1972 until 1975. It is best remembered today for Big Star , whose first two albums, released in 1972 and 1974, helped define the style known as power pop . The label was initially an attempt by
194-518: 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,
291-551: A "record group" which is, in turn, controlled by a music group. The constituent companies in a music group or record group are sometimes marketed as being "divisions" of the group. From 1929 to 1998, there were six major record labels, known as the Big Six: PolyGram was merged into Universal Music Group (UMG) in 1999, leaving the remaining record labels to be known as the Big Five. In 2004, Sony and BMG agreed to
388-405: A 50% profit-share agreement, aka 50–50 deal, not uncommon. In addition, independent labels are often artist-owned (although not always), with a stated intent often being to control the quality of the artist's output. Independent labels usually do not enjoy the resources available to the "big three" and as such will often lag behind them in market shares. However, frequently independent artists manage
485-562: A US Senate committee, that the Byrds never received any of the royalties they had been promised for their biggest hits, " Mr. Tambourine Man " and " Turn! Turn!, Turn! ". A contract either provides for the artist to deliver completed recordings to the label, or for the label to undertake the recording with the artist. For artists without a recording history, the label is often involved in selecting producers, recording studios , additional musicians, and songs to be recorded, and may supervise
582-479: A bigger company. If this is the case it can sometimes give the artist greater freedom than if they were signed directly to the big label. There are many examples of this kind of label, such as Nothing Records , owned by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails ; and Morning Records, owned by the Cooper Temple Clause , who were releasing EPs for years before the company was bought by RCA . If an artist and
679-408: A conventional cash advance to sign the artist, who would receive a royalty for sales after expenses were recouped. With the release of the artist's first album, however, the label has an option to pay an additional $ 200,000 in exchange for 30 percent of the net income from all touring, merchandise, endorsements, and fan-club fees. Atlantic would also have the right to approve the act's tour schedule, and
776-555: A deal with INO Records, a division of Integrity Media , to distribute and market its entire roster. The label's albums are recorded at Ardent Studios in Memphis. The following artists have performed under the Ardent label. Record label [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos , or
873-745: A deal with a proper label. In 2002, ArtistShare was founded as the Internet's first record label where the releases were directly funded by the artist's fans. Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (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. The biggest music company in
970-476: A former wife of Tom Petty that seeks class action status for artists whose master recordings were believed to have been destroyed in the Universal Studios fire. On December 9, 2011, Megaupload published a music video titled: "The Mega Song", showing artists including Kanye West , Snoop Dogg , Alicia Keys and will.i.am endorsing the company. The music video was also uploaded to YouTube, but
1067-758: A global partnership agreement with UMG across recorded music, music publishing, brand management, and licensing rights. On November 19, 2018, singer-songwriter Taylor Swift signed a new multi-album deal with UMG, in the United States, her future releases will be promoted under the Republic Records imprint. In addition to the promised ownership of her master recordings, UMG agreed to, in case it sells portions of its stake in Spotify , distribute proceeds among its artists and make them non-recoupable. In December 2018, Queen's " Bohemian Rhapsody " became
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#17328011490751164-508: 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 across Facebook , Instagram and Oculus . Sony and Warner signed similar contracts with Facebook the following year. Furthermore, on December 19, 2017, UMG signed a multi-year licensing agreement with YouTube . In June 2018, Universal Music Japan announced an exclusive license agreement with Disney Music Group . With
1261-558: A joint venture and merged their recorded music division to create the Sony BMG label (which would be renamed Sony Music Entertainment after a 2008 merger); BMG kept its music publishing division separate from Sony BMG and later sold BMG Music Publishing to UMG. In 2007, the remaining record labels—then known as the Big Four—controlled about 70% of the world music market , and about 80% of the United States music market. In 2012,
1358-476: A label want to work together, whether an artist has contacted a label directly, usually by sending their team a demo, or the Artists & Repertoire team of the label has scouted the artist and reached out directly, they will usually enter in to a contractual relationship. A label typically enters into an exclusive recording contract with an artist to market the artist's recordings in return for royalties on
1455-462: A large international media group , or somewhere in between. The Association of Independent Music (AIM) defines a 'major' as "a multinational company which (together with the companies in its group) has more than 5% of the world market(s) for the sale of records or music videos." As of 2012 , there are only three labels that can be referred to as "major labels": Universal Music Group , Sony Music , and Warner Music Group . In 2014, AIM estimated that
1552-469: 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. In November 2022, Universal Music Group acquired a 49% stake in Play It Again Sam (PIAS Group), which brings together
1649-456: A new multi-year licensing agreement with Spotify In June 2021, Pershing Square Tontine Holdings , a special-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's Pershing Square Holdings would complete
1746-817: A new multi-year licensing agreement with Spotify , the world's leading streaming service, and in May 2017, UMG signed a deal with Tencent , China's biggest gaming and social media firm. In July 2017, " Despacito " by Luis Fonsi , Daddy Yankee and featuring Justin Bieber , became the most streamed track of all time. By 2018, the song had broken several Guinness World Records , including Most Weeks at Number 1 on Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart and most-viewed video online. In August 2017, UMG and Grace/Beyond agreed to develop three new music-based television series, 27 , Melody Island and Mixtape . 27 would focus on musicians at
1843-419: A result of the fire. Representatives for R.E.M. announced they would investigate the effects the fire may have had on the band's archival materials, while Hole , Steely Dan , Rosanne Cash and Geoff Downes made statements on their possible losses from the fire. A representative for Eminem confirmed that the rapper's master recordings were digitized months before the fire, but could not confirm whether
1940-605: A return by recording for a much smaller production cost of a typical big label release. Sometimes they are able to recoup their initial advance even with much lower sales numbers. On occasion, established artists, once their record contract has finished, move to an independent label. This often gives the combined advantage of name recognition and more control over one's music along with a larger portion of royalty profits. Artists such as Dolly Parton , Aimee Mann , Prince , Public Enemy , among others, have done this. Historically, companies started in this manner have been re-absorbed into
2037-614: A series of independent labels. In January 2023, Sherry Lansing was named the Chairman of Board of Directors of the Universal Music Group. In August 2023, it was announced UMG had acquired the UAE -based music marketing, digital publishing and distribution agency, Chabaka. In 2023, Universal Music Group and Deezer announced their initiative to explore potential new business models for music streaming that better recognize
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#17328011490752134-474: 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. It
2231-513: A valuation of €46 billion. As of April 2024, UMG's catalogue includes over 3 million recordings and 4 million compositions. As of November 2024, UMG is facing accusations of violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act ; and using deceptive business practices and false advertising under New York state law, to illegally inflate music streams using bots, payola and other methods. The company's origins go back to
2328-512: A worldwide basis. The exclusive deal also saw UMG granted unlimited access to all rights pertaining to Disney's 85-year back catalog of soundtracks and albums. On April 2, 2013, the gospel music divisions of Motown Records and EMI merged to form a new label called Motown Gospel. In May 2013, Japanese company SoftBank offered $ 8.5 billion to Vivendi for the acquisition of UMG, but Vivendi rejected it. In July 2018, JPMorgan said that UMG could be worth as much as $ 40 billion and then increased
2425-862: Is also headquartered in Hollywood. Universal Music Group operates a secondary office in Woodland Hills that includes finance, royalty, and operations functions. Universal Music Latin Entertainment is headquartered in Miami, Florida . Universal Music Group Nashville is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee . UMG has offices in New York City where Island Records , Def Jam Recordings , Republic Records , Verve Label Group , and Spinefarm Records are headquartered. Universal Music Spain
2522-640: Is based in Madrid , Spain. Universal Music Group Global (formerly known as Universal Music Group International (UMGI) ) operates offices in London. Universal Music GmbH, the German subsidiary, is headquartered in Berlin . It moved in 2002 from Hamburg to the district Friedrichshain at the river Spree . In February 2024 the company moved out of the iconic building also called "Eierspeicher" into another office down
2619-598: Is expected to be of $ 3.36 billion. In February 2020, Vivendi announced it was planning to go public in an IPO within three years. 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, bringing back the EMI brand. The same day, UMG announced launch of its new affiliates in Morocco and Israel. In July 2020, UMG signed
2716-454: Is often marketed as a "unit" or "division" of the parent label, though in most cases, they operate as pseudonym for it and do not exist as a distinct business operation or separate business structure (although trademarks are sometimes registered). A record label may give a musical act an imprint as part of their branding, while other imprints serve to house other activities, such as side ventures of that label. Music collectors often use
2813-638: Is over a third bigger than initial valuation. In January 2022, UMG (through INgrooves ) acquired the Icelandic record label Alda Music, which owned the rights to nearly 80 percent of all music released in Iceland. In February 2022, Universal Music Group announced a partnership with Curio, an NFT platform, to create NFT collections for its record labels and artists. On May 31, 2022, Universal Music Group announced Baa1/BBB long-term credit ratings from Moody's and S&P. In October 2022, Mercedes-Benz launched
2910-684: Is owned by Sony Group Corporation ). Record labels and music publishers that are not under the control of the big three are generally considered to be independent ( indie ), even if they are large corporations with complex structures. The term indie label is sometimes used to refer to only those independent labels that adhere to independent criteria of corporate structure and size, and some consider an indie label to be almost any label that releases non-mainstream music, regardless of its corporate structure. Independent labels are often considered more artist-friendly. Though they may have less sales power, indie labels typically offer larger artist royalty with
3007-477: The R&;B -focused Stax to move into rock music , but distribution problems prevented any releases from succeeding. Big Star became widely known through 1980s reissues and the long delayed first release of Third/Sister Lovers , recorded in 1974. The label was revived in the 1990s with two divisions: Alternative Mainstream and Contemporary Christian. Former Big Star guitarist Alex Chilton released recordings on
Ardent Records - Misplaced Pages Continue
3104-463: The free software and open source movements and the success of Linux . In the mid-2000s, some music publishing companies began undertaking the work traditionally done by labels. The publisher Sony/ATV Music, for example, leveraged its connections within the Sony family to produce, record, distribute, and promote Elliott Yamin 's debut album under a dormant Sony-owned imprint , rather than waiting for
3201-487: 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. In December 2017, Universal Music Group acquired Stiff and ZTT labels, along with Perfect Songs Publishing, from Trevor Horn 's SPZ Group; BMG Rights Management , through Union Square Music subsidiary, retained its back catalogues. That same month, UMG signed
3298-510: The "parent" of any sublabels. Vanity labels are labels that bear an imprint that gives the impression of an artist's ownership or control, but in fact represent a standard artist/label relationship. In such an arrangement, the artist will control nothing more than the usage of the name on the label, but may enjoy a greater say in the packaging of their work. An example of such a label is the Neutron label owned by ABC while at Phonogram Inc. in
3395-714: The 'ethical use' of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Also in October 2023, UMG formed a new partnership with BMG Rights Management to develop collaborative initiatives to enlarge opportunities for BMG-signed artists all over the world. Unable to reach a licensing agreement with TikTok, UMG removed its music from the platform in January 2024, 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). Following
3492-691: The Ardent mainstream division, which also released recordings by bands such as Spot, Jolene, Two Minutes Hate, The Idlewilds, Neighborhood Texture Jam, and Techno-Squid Eats Parliament. The mainstream division of Ardent Records was closed in the mid-1990s. Ardent's Christian label issued its first Christian releases in 1995. Initial projects included albums from Big Tent Revival , Skillet , and Smalltown Poets . To date, Ardent Records has released more than 35 albums by artists such as Todd Agnew , Jonah33 , Smalltown Poets , Satellite Soul, Clear, All Together Separate , Brother's Keeper, Justifide, Before You Breathe, NonFiction, and Joy Whitlock. In 2005, Ardent signed
3589-531: 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 . Universal Music Group completed their acquisition of EMI on September 28, 2012. In November 2012, Steve Barnett was appointed chairman and CEO of Capitol Music Group . He formerly served as COO of Columbia Records . In compliance
3686-659: The Greek market, as part of its divesture plans, Universal Music retained Minos EMI and sold Universal Music Greece to Greek investors who renamed it Cobalt Music. Edel AG acquired the MPS catalogue from Universal in January 2014. On March 20, 2013, UMG announced the worldwide extension of their exclusive distribution deal with the Disney 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
3783-872: The Philippines and more. Company's legal headquarters are in the Netherlands. Universal Music Group's largest corporate shareholder, Tencent , is headquartered in Shenzhen , China. Tencent's ultimate largest controlling corporate shareholder, Naspers , is headquartered in Cape Town , South Africa. On March 8, 2022, UMG suspended all its operations in Russia , following the country's invasion of Ukraine . In 2023, UMG announced its expansion with its new office in Casablanca , Morocco. As of January 2022,
3880-631: 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. In August 2018, UMG announced a strategic expansion in Africa, opening an office in Abidjan to oversee French-speaking Africa, and also unveiling a Universal Music Nigeria office in Lagos to focus on signing local artists and taking them global. In September 2018, singer Elton John signed
3977-504: The UK. At one point artist Lizzie Tear (under contract with ABC themselves) appeared on the imprint, but it was devoted almost entirely to ABC's offerings and is still used for their re-releases (though Phonogram owns the masters of all the work issued on the label). However, not all labels dedicated to particular artists are completely superficial in origin. Many artists, early in their careers, create their own labels which are later bought out by
Ardent Records - Misplaced Pages Continue
4074-546: The United States would typically bear a 4th & B'way logo and would state in the fine print, "4th & B'way™, an Island Records, Inc. company". Collectors discussing labels as brands would say that 4th & B'way is a sublabel or imprint of just "Island" or "Island Records". Similarly, collectors who choose to treat corporations and trademarks as equivalent might say 4th & B'way is an imprint and/or sublabel of both Island Records, Ltd. and that company's sublabel, Island Records, Inc. However, such definitions are complicated by
4171-492: The acquisition was completed on June 25, 2007. In June 2007, UMG acquired Sanctuary, which eventually became UMG's entertainment merchandising and brand management division, Bravado. 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. Doug Morris stepped down from his position as CEO on January 1, 2011. Former chairman/CEO of Universal Music International Lucian Grainge
4268-545: 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. That same month, Vivendi announced it would explore selling as much as half of Universal Music Group to one or more investors. In Nielsen's 2018 US Music Mid-Year report, UMG made history with eight of
4365-452: The age of 27, an age at which several 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. In October 2017, UMG announced the launch of its Accelerator Engagement Network, an initiative aimed to help develop music-based startups around the world. In November 2017, USC Annenberg announced UMG's partnership in
4462-407: The album will sell better if the artist complies with the label's desired requests or changes. At times, the record label's decisions are prudent ones from a commercial perspective, but these decisions may frustrate artists who feel that their art is being diminished or misrepresented by such actions. In other instances, record labels have shelved artists' albums with no intention of any promotion for
4559-411: The artist from their contract, leaving the artist in a state of limbo. Artists who have had disputes with their labels over ownership and control of their music have included Taylor Swift , Tinashe , Megan Thee Stallion , Kelly Clarkson , Thirty Seconds to Mars , Clipse , Ciara , JoJo , Michelle Branch , Kesha , Kanye West , Lupe Fiasco , Paul McCartney , and Johnny Cash . In
4656-415: The artist in question. Reasons for shelving can include the label deciding to focus its resources on other artists on its roster, or the label undergoing a restructure where the person that signed the artist and supports the artist's vision is no longer present to advocate for the artist. In extreme cases, record labels can prevent the release of an artist's music for years, while also declining to release
4753-425: The artist is established and has a loyal fan base. For that reason, labels now have to be more relaxed with the development of artists because longevity is the key to these types of pact. Several artists such as Paramore , Maino , and even Madonna have signed such types of deals. A look at an actual 360 deal offered by Atlantic Records to an artist shows a variation of the structure. Atlantic's document offers
4850-484: The artists may be downloaded free of charge or for a fee that is paid via PayPal or other online payment system. Some of these labels also offer hard copy CDs in addition to direct download. Digital Labels are the latest version of a 'net' label. Whereas 'net' labels were started as a free site, digital labels represent more competition for the major record labels. The new century brought the phenomenon of open-source or open-content record labels. These are inspired by
4947-650: The circular label in the center of a vinyl record which prominently displays the manufacturer's name, along with other information. Within the mainstream music industry , recording artists have traditionally been reliant upon record labels to broaden their consumer base, market their albums, and promote their singles on streaming services, radio, and television. Record labels also provide publicists , who assist performers in gaining positive media coverage, and arrange for their merchandise to be available via stores and other media outlets. Record labels may be small, localized and " independent " ("indie"), or they may be part of
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#17328011490755044-471: The company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture , distribution , marketing, promotion, and enforcement of copyright for sound recordings and music videos, while also conducting talent scouting and development of new artists , artist financing and maintaining contracts with recording artists and their managers. The term "record label" derives from
5141-425: 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. Seagram's entertainment assets were then sold to French media conglomerate Vivendi in 2000, along with UMG. In May 2004, Universal Music Group
5238-554: The company's catalog division, are headquartered in Santa Monica. Def Jam , Island and Republic Records also maintain offices there. UMG chairman & CEO Lucian Grainge is based at the company's Santa Monica offices. Universal Music Publishing is also headquartered in the city. Capitol Music Group is headquartered at the Capitol Records Building in Hollywood. Universal Music Latin Entertainment
5335-475: The company's shares were held by: In 2000, music companies including UMG entered into consent agreements with the Federal Trade Commission , with no admission of liability, 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. In 2002,
5432-403: The company. Some independent labels become successful enough that major record companies negotiate contracts to either distribute music for the label or in some cases, purchase the label completely, to the point where it functions as an imprint or sublabel. A label used as a trademark or brand and not a company is called an imprint , a term used for a similar concept in publishing . An imprint
5529-1524: The conditions of the European Commission after purchase of EMI, Universal Music Group sold the Mute catalogue to the German-based BMG Rights Management on December 22, 2012. Two months later, BMG acquired Sanctuary Records for €50 million ($ 58 million). On February 8, 2013, Warner Music Group acquired the Parlophone Label Group (consisting of Parlophone 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). Later in February, Sony Music Entertainment acquired UMG's European share in Now That's What I Call Music for approximately $ 60 million. Play It Again Sam acquired Co-Operative Music for £500,000 in March 2013. With EMI's absorption into Universal Music complete, its British operations consist of five label units: Island, Polydor, Decca, Virgin EMI and Capitol. In
5626-400: The corporate mergers that occurred in 1989 (when Island was sold to PolyGram) and 1998 (when PolyGram merged with Universal). PolyGram held sublabels including Mercury, Island and Motown. Island remained registered as corporations in both the United States and UK , but control of its brands changed hands multiple times as new companies were formed, diminishing the corporation's distinction as
5723-533: 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. 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
5820-527: The disbandment of Island Def Jam Music , one of four operational umbrella groups within Universal Music. Universal CEO Lucian 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." Island Records and Def Jam now operate as autonomous record labels. David Massey and Bartels, who worked respectively at Island and Def Jam Records, were named to
5917-416: The early days of the recording industry, recording labels were absolutely necessary for the success of any artist. The first goal of any new artist or band was to get signed to a contract as soon as possible. In the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, many artists were so desperate to sign a contract with a record company that they sometimes ended up signing agreements in which they sold the rights to their recordings to
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#17328011490756014-594: The earnings call, UMG began a "strategic organizational redesign" that included company-wide layoffs. Universal Music Group co-developed with Google Vevo , a site designed for music videos inspired by Hulu , 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. UMG's operational headquarters are located in Santa Monica . Interscope-Geffen-A&M and Universal Music Enterprises (UME),
6111-512: The end of their contract with EMI when their album In Rainbows was released as a " pay what you want " sales model as an online download, but they also returned to a label for a conventional release. Research shows that record labels still control most access to distribution. Computers and internet technology led to an increase in file sharing and direct-to-fan digital distribution, causing music sales to plummet in recent years. Labels and organizations have had to change their strategies and
6208-459: The fire which swept through Universal Studios Hollywood on June 1, 2008, caused "the biggest disaster in the history of the music business". 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 for Decca , the pop, jazz and classical powerhouse; it housed master tapes for
6305-525: The formation of the American branch of Decca Records in September 1934, and its name and company logo originate from Carl Laemmle 's Universal Pictures . Although the movie studio and the music business share a common history, today the former is part of Comcast and the latter an independent commercial entity. During World War II , many record companies donated their metal masters to recycling for
6402-671: The major Grammy Awards for the year, with Sam Smith receiving Best New Artist , Record of the Year and Song of the Year awards and Beck winning Album of the Year . In March 2016, Universal Music Canada donated the archives of EMI Music Canada to the University of Calgary . In May 2016, UMG acquired Famehouse, a digital marketing agency. That same year, Paul McCartney and the Bee Gees both signed to UMG's Capitol Records, including their catalog releases. In April 2017, UMG signed
6499-627: The major divisions of EMI were sold off separately by owner Citigroup : most of EMI's recorded music division was absorbed into UMG; EMI Music Publishing was absorbed into Sony/ATV Music Publishing; finally, EMI's Parlophone and Virgin Classics labels were absorbed into Warner Music Group (WMG) in July 2013. This left the so-called Big Three labels. In 2020 and 2021, both WMG and UMG had their IPO with WMG starting trading at Nasdaq and UMG starting trading at Euronext Amsterdam and leaving only Sony Music as wholly-owned subsidiary of an international conglomerate ( Sony Entertainment which in turn
6596-433: The major labels (two examples are American singer Frank Sinatra 's Reprise Records , which has been owned by Warner Music Group for some time now, and musician Herb Alpert 's A&M Records , now owned by Universal Music Group). Similarly, Madonna 's Maverick Records (started by Madonna with her manager and another partner) was to come under control of Warner Music when Madonna divested herself of controlling shares in
6693-537: The majors had a collective global market share of some 65–70%. Record labels are often under the control of a corporate umbrella organization called a "music group ". A music group is usually affiliated to an international conglomerate " holding company ", which often has non-music divisions as well. A music group controls and consists of music-publishing companies, record (sound recording) manufacturers, record distributors, and record labels. Record companies (manufacturers, distributors, and labels) may also constitute
6790-453: The most-streamed song from the pre-streaming era and the most-streamed classic rock song of all time. In February 2019, UMG fully acquired music distributor INgrooves . 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. In August 2019, Tencent and Vivendi started negotiation to sell 10% Vivendi's stake of Universal Music to Tencent. The deal
6887-481: The new record labels independently. Barry Weiss , who previously moved from Sony Music to lead Island Def Jam Music in 2012 when Motown 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 the Capitol Music Group and previous Vice President Ethiopia Habtemariam
6984-507: The output of recording sessions. For established artists, a label is usually less involved in the recording process. The relationship between record labels and artists can be a difficult one. Many artists have had conflicts with their labels over the type of sound or songs they want to make, which can result in the artist's artwork or titles being changed before release. Other artists have had their music prevented from release, or shelved. Record labels generally do this because they believe that
7081-596: The physical master reels of his recordings were affected. UMG archivist Patrick Kraus assured that the Impulse! Records , John Coltrane , Muddy Waters , Ahmad Jamal , Nashboro Records , and Chess Records masters survived the fire and were still in Universal's archive. Howard King filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles on June 21, 2019, on behalf of Soundgarden , Hole , Steve Earle , the estate of Tupac Shakur and
7178-677: The purchase instead. In September 2021, IPO , Euronext Amsterdam announces an introduction price of €18,50 and Vivendi 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 businessman Vincent Bolloré is revealed as the majority shareholder with 28% of UMG shares, through its holding company Bolloré (18%) and its subsidiary Vivendi (10%), headed by his son Yannick 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
7275-548: The record label in perpetuity. Entertainment lawyers are usually employed by artists to discuss contract terms. Due to advancing technology such as the Internet , the role of labels is rapidly changing, as artists are able to freely distribute their own material through online radio , peer-to-peer file sharing such as BitTorrent , and other services, at little to no cost, but with correspondingly low financial returns. Established artists, such as Nine Inch Nails , whose career
7372-418: The salaries of certain tour and merchandise sales employees hired by the artist. In addition, the label also offers the artist a 30 percent cut of the label's album profits—if any—which represents an improvement from the typical industry royalty of 15 percent. With the Internet now being the dominant source for obtaining music, netlabels have emerged. Depending on the ideals of the net label, music files from
7469-812: The sale of EMI to UMG was approved in the European Union 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
7566-476: The scope of the incident and affected assets." Following the publication of the New York Times story, Questlove of The 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. Similarly, Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic said he believed the masters for the band's 1991 album Nevermind were "gone forever" as
7663-419: The selling price of the recordings. Contracts may extend over short or long durations, and may or may not refer to specific recordings. Established, successful artists tend to be able to renegotiate their contracts to get terms more favorable to them, but Prince 's much-publicized 1994–1996 feud with Warner Bros. Records provides a strong counterexample, as does Roger McGuinn 's claim, made in July 2000 before
7760-584: The state in settlement. 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 ". After years of litigation, the suit settled in 2018, prior to
7857-583: The storied blues label Chess ; it housed masters for Impulse! , 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." In a statement issued on June 11, 2019, UMG said The New York Times article contained "numerous inaccuracies, misleading statements, contradictions and fundamental misunderstandings of
7954-656: The street. Universal Music Group's Universal Music Polska is located in Warsaw . Universal Music Group's Universal Music Canada is located in Toronto . Universal Music Japan is headquartered in Shibuya , Tokyo. 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,
8051-612: The takedown was ordered under the terms of the Digital 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." The video was subsequently returned to YouTube, with the reasons for the UMG takedown remaining unclear. Lawyers for will.i.am initially claimed that he had never agreed to
8148-400: The term sublabel to refer to either an imprint or a subordinate label company (such as those within a group). For example, in the 1980s and 1990s, 4th & B'way Records (pronounced as "Broadway") was a trademarked brand owned by Island Records Ltd. in the UK and by a subordinate branch, Island Records, Inc., in the United States. The center label on a 4th & Broadway record marketed in
8245-617: The valuation to $ 50 billion in 2019. In August 2013, UMG became the first company in the US to have nine of the Top 10 songs on the digital charts, according to SoundScan and weeks later, became the first company to hold all 10 of the Top 10 spots on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart . In September 2013, UMG received a SAG-AFTRA American Scene Award for the company's commitment to diversity as exemplified by its "entire catalog and roster of artists." On April 1, 2014, Universal Music announced
8342-440: The value created by artists. 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. Also in 2023, Universal Music Group introduced a HBCU scholarship program for aspiring doctors. In October 2023, UMG and BandLab Technologies formed a partnership to protect the rights of artists as well as songwriters and guarantee
8439-440: The video with the original audio track. In December 2007, UMG announced a deal with Imeem 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. All traffic was redirected to MySpace after that company acquired Imeem on December 8, 2009. According to Jody Rosen of The New York Times ,
8536-535: The war effort. However, Universal was an exception and donated more than 200,000 of their historic master recordings to the Library of Congress . 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,
8633-433: The way they work with artists. New types of deals called "multiple rights" or "360" deals are being made with artists, where labels are given rights and percentages to artist's touring, merchandising, and endorsements . In exchange for these rights, labels usually give higher advance payments to artists, have more patience with artist development, and pay higher percentages of CD sales. These 360 deals are most effective when
8730-506: The world, it is one of the " Big Three " record labels, along with Sony Music Group and Warner Music Group . Tencent acquired ten percent of Universal Music Group in March 2020 for €3 billion and acquired an additional ten percent stake in January 2021. Pershing Square Holdings later acquired ten percent of UMG prior to its IPO on the Euronext Amsterdam stock exchange. The company went public on September 21, 2021, at
8827-533: Was cast under separate management from Universal Studios, when 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 Electric . On September 6, 2006, Vivendi announced its €1.63 billion ($ 2.4 billion) purchase of BMG Music Publishing ; after receiving European Union regulatory approval,
8924-455: Was developed with major label backing, announced an end to their major label contracts, citing that the uncooperative nature of the recording industry with these new trends is hurting musicians, fans and the industry as a whole. However, Nine Inch Nails later returned to working with a major label, admitting that they needed the international marketing and promotional reach that a major label can provide. Radiohead also cited similar motives with
9021-440: Was estimated that consumers were overcharged by $ 500 million and up to $ 5 per album. 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
9118-507: 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. On February 11, 2017, PolyGram Entertainment was relaunched as a film and television unit of Universal Music Group under David Blackman. In 2015, UMG's Capitol Records earned all
9215-593: Was promoted to CEO of the company. Grainge later replaced Morris 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. 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
9312-514: Was promoted to Label President for Motown Records. Universal Music Group entered into film and TV production with the 2014 purchase of Eagle Rock Entertainment . UMG's first major film production was Amy , which won an Oscar for Best Documentary, while taking part in Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck and The Beatles: Eight Days a Week documentaries. In January 2016, UMG hired David Blackman from Laurence Mark Production where he
9409-556: Was removed following a takedown request by UMG. Megaupload said that the video contained no infringing content, commenting: "we have signed agreements with every featured artist for this campaign". Megaupload requested an apology from UMG, and filed a lawsuit against the company in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California , on December 12, 2011. UMG denied that
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