Universal Music Group (UMG)

UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP (UMG)

WHO OWNS THE COMPANY?

·         Vivendi SA which is a French international media conglomerate with activities in music, television and film, publishing, telecommunications, the internet and video games. Headquarters are in Paris.

CEO Doug Morris announced that he would step 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. Morris has retained his title as chairman of UMG and remains a member of Vivendi's management board.

·         CEO of UMG is Lucian Grainge

·         Chairman of UMG is Doug Morris.

WHERE IS IT BASED?

·         The headquarters of UMG are in New York City.

·         The main offices are in Santa Monica and Universal city.

·         In the UK the group has a number of offices in London and Romford

·         In Japan the group has an office in Minato, Tokyo.

Record Labels

UMG’s strength and legacy of music flows from a diverse family of record labels which include: A&M/Octone, Barclay, Decca, Deutsche Grammophon, Disa, ECM, Emarcy, Fonovisa, Interscope Geffen A&M Records, Island Def Jam Music Group, Machete Music, Mercury Records, Polydor Records, Show Dog–Universal Music, Universal Motown Republic Group, Universal Music Latino, Universal Music Group Nashville (which includes Lost Highway, MCA Nashville and Mercury Nashville), and Verve Music Group.

Five well known record labels owned by UMG:

1) Interscope Geffen A&M Records

2) Island Def Jam Music Group

3) Polydor Records

4) Mercury records

5) Verve Music Group


Facts and figures about the company - E.g. Record sales, Percentage of world market:


Revenue: $6.14 billion (2007)

UMG’s roster is comprised of artists covering the full spectrum of music around the world, making UMG the leader in both international and local repertoire. Artists signed to UMG throughout the world include:

North America: Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, Kanye West, Keri Hilson, Lady Gaga, Timbaland, Lil Wayne, Dr.Dre, Eminem, Ne-yo, Gwen Stefani, Mariah Carey.

Europe: Sugababes, David Bisbal,

How far do you think developments in technology have changed the way the music industry operates? Consider how new technologies have changed the relationship between audiences and artists.

Throughout recent years there have been huge technological changes which have completely morphed the way in which the music industry operates. New ways have been created for artists to distribute their music to the audience, as well as new ways that the audience can get hold of this music.


With the use of new technology, the way in which people listen to and get hold of music is completely different. Instead of buying a record or even a CD, the majority of people now buy their music from the internet and get an instant download of that song or album. To listen to music, these tracks can then be saved onto an mp3 player/iPod, computer, or even onto your mobile phone. This also means that this music can be listened to on the go, pretty much anywhere. Music can also be streamed straight from the internet on social sites such as MySpace, or even through programmes like Spotify.

Record Labels

a) What does a record label do?

Record labels enable artists to treat music making as a full-time career. They exploit the artists' recordings commercially and collect and pay the resulting royalties on their behalf.

b) Give four examples of services a record label might provide for an artist.

1. Pay for the recording and mixing of albums and underwrite new acts' touring costs to help raise their profile and sales.

2. Provide essential promotional and marketing role, includes developing and executing ad and marketing campaigns as well as promoting and plugging the acts to the media.

3. Exploit recordings in movies and adverts and license rights to global parties in different markets.

4.

c) Why might an artist want to be signed to a record label?

An artist might want to be signed to a record label because they provide money for the artist to make music as their career, record labels help get acts noticed.

d) Give four examples of ways in which record labels make money (these are known as revenue streams)
 1. Royalty costs
 2. Distribution costs
 3.Promotional costs
 4.Manufacturing costs

and potential profits

e) Name the 'big four' record labels (also known as 'the majors') and name two well known artists who are signed to each one.

EMI music - Katy Perry and Coldplay
Sony Music Entertainment - Beyonce and Usher
Universal Music - Dizzee Rascal and Will.i.am
Warner Bros Records - Michael Buble and Jason DeRulo

AS Media Studies Unit G323 - Exam

AS Media Studies Unit G323 - exam

Section B: Institutions and Audiences

For Section B, we shall be studying the music industry. We shall focus on case studies of two record labels within the contemporary music industry which target British audiences, including their patterns of production, distribution, marketing and consumption by audiences. This will be accompanied by study of the strategies used by record labels to counter the practice of file sharing and their impact on music production, marketing and consumption.

Candidates should be prepared to understand and discuss the processes of production, distribution, marketing and exchange as they relate to contemporary media institutions, as well as, the nature of audience consumption and the relationship between audiences and institutions. In addition candidates should be familiar with:

·         the issues raised by media ownership in contemporary media practice;

·         the importance of cross media convergence and synergy, in production, distribution and marketing;

·         the technologies that have been introduced in recent years at the levels of production, marketing and exchange;

·         the significance of proliferation in hardware and content for institutions and audiences;

·         the importance of technological convergence for institutions and audiences;

·         the issues raised in the targeting of national and local audiences (specifically, British) by international and global institutions;

·         the ways in which the candidates’ own experiences of media consumption illustrate wider patterns and trends of audience behaviour.