Universal Music Group
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.[4][5] The biggest music company in the world,[6] 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[7][8][9] and acquired an additional ten percent stake in January 2021.[10] 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 a valuation of €46 billion.[11][12]
"Universal Records" redirects here. For Universal Records 1988–1989, see Universal Records (1988). For Universal Records 1995–2006, see Universal Records (1995−2006). For other uses, see Universal Records (disambiguation). For the Chicago recording studio, see Universal Recording Corporation.Formerly
- Decca Records (USA business) (1934–1971)
- MCA Records (1971–1989)
- MCA Music Entertainment Group (1989–1996)
- Euronext Amsterdam: UMG
- AEX component
September 1934
Worldwide (except for Russia & Belarus)
- Lucian Grainge
(Chairman & CEO) - Sherry Lansing
(Chairwoman of the Board)
€1.399 billion (US$1.65 billion) (2021)[1]
- Tencent (20%)
- Bolloré family (18%)
- Vivendi (10%)
- Pershing Square Holdings (10%)
8,319 (2018)[2]
As of April 2024, UMG's catalogue includes over 3 million recordings and 4 million compositions.
Vevo
Universal Music Group co-developed with Google[129][130] Vevo, a site designed for music videos inspired by Hulu, which similarly allows free ad-supported streaming of videos and other music content.[131]
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.[132]
As of January 2022, the company's shares were held by:[3]