Blog: umg

Read our latest daily deep dives, hot takes, and exciting updates about the entertainment world. Check out the latest insight from your favourite analyst, or search by coverage areas - music, entertainment and fandom, creator economy and social.

Social is the new streaming… but the cracks are already showing

Cover image for Social is the new streaming… but the cracks are already showing

Hanna Kahlert

22 Feb 2024

When streaming first overtook music, it did so by force. Audiences quickly latched on to the freedoms of digital life and the accessibility of music on the internet. Piracy was on the rise and downloading music via Napster and LimeWire became a shared memory for millennials.

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Major label revenue surged in 2021, but what does that mean?

Cover image for Major label revenue surged in 2021, but what does that mean?

Mark Mulligan

7 Jan 2022

Major label revenue surged in 2021, but what does that mean? 2021 was an anomalous year for the recorded music market. Two of the majors did an IPO, the pandemic continued to disrupt the marketplace, and major label revenues grew at unprecedented rates.

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The music industry’s centre of gravity is shifting

Cover image for The music industry’s centre of gravity is shifting

Mark Mulligan

16 Apr 2021

music industry investment

music investment

Regular readers will know that MIDiA has been analysing the creator tool space for some time now and building the case for why the changes that are taking place will be transformational not just for the creator tools space itself but for the music business as a whole.

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What UMG’s IPO Means for the Business of Music

Mark Mulligan

14 Feb 2020

Access Industries

music as an asset class

Finishing 2019 on $6.4 billion, Universal Music is to go to IPO hot on the heels of Warner Music’s announcement to do the same. This of course also follows the Tencent-led agreement to acquire 10% of UMG for $3 billion with an option to acquire another 10%.

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Take Five (the big five stories and data you need to know) December 9th 2019

Cover image for Take Five (the big five stories and data you need to know) December 9th 2019

Mark Mulligan

9 Dec 2019

Go east: Universal Music launched Red Records, an Asian repertoire joint venture label with AirAsia Group. With Western repertoire accounting for around only a third of all streams in Asian markets, UMG needs local bets to benefit from the Asian opportunity.

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Take Five (the big five stories and data you need to know) August 23rd 2019

Cover image for Take Five (the big five stories and data you need to know) August 23rd 2019

Mark Mulligan

23 Aug 2019

Taylor Swift, pre-sale love: Taylor Swift tends not to adhere to prevailing industry trends. As a millennial artist with a strong Gen Z following, streaming should rightly be the core of her recordings career.

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What Happens When Tencent Owns 10% of UMG?

Zach Fuller

22 Aug 2019

To sound like a broken record, things are about to get difficult for Spotify. To the company’s credit, since its launch a decade ago rumours of its demise have always been greatly exaggerated, with the company regularly proving sceptics wrong through its ability to consistently retain the largest market share of the music streaming industry despite competing against the deep pockets of its tech major rivals.

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Backing Both Horses: The Thinking Behind Tencent’s UMG Stake

Mark Mulligan

6 Aug 2019

As long expected, Tencent is poised to take a stake in Vivendi, reported to be 10%. While the news might not be surprising, there are a number of important factors at play: Tencent fast-tracked? Given that various entities stated their interest in investing in UMG, Vivendi appears to have fast-tracked Tencent.

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Big Machine (Inadvertently) Just Did a Promo Ad for Label Services Deals

Mark Mulligan

1 Jul 2019

The sales of Taylor Swift’s former label Big Machine Records to Scooter Braun has resulted in an ugly spat that has been played out very publicly. First Braun enthused about acquiring a ‘brilliant’ company and the global ‘opportunities’.

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Just Who Would Buy Universal Music?

Cover image for Just Who Would Buy Universal Music?

Mark Mulligan

14 Jan 2019

Access Industries

Vivendi continues to look for a buyer for a portion of Universal Music . Though the process has been running officially since May 2018 , the transaction (or transactions) may not close until 2020. In many instances, dragging out a sale could reflect badly, suggesting that the seller is struggling to find suitable buyers.

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Taylor Swift, Label Services and What Comes Next

Mark Mulligan

22 Nov 2018

Taylor Swift has done it again, striking a deal with UMG that includes a commitment from the world’s largest label group to share proceeds from Spotify stock sales with artists, even if they are not recouped (ie haven’t generated enough revenue to have paid off the balance on their advance so not yet eligible to earn royalty income).

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What UMG and Boomplay's Deal Tells Us About the Future of African Streaming

Zach Fuller

6 Nov 2018

african streaming

Universal Music Group have announced today they will be signing a landmark licensing agreement with Boomplay, Africa’s leading music streaming and download service, in a deal that covers multiple markets within Africa.

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Could Spotify Buy Universal?

Mark Mulligan

11 May 2018

Vivendi is reported to be proposing to its board a plan for spinning out Universal Music. It is certainly the right time for a spin off (always sell before the peak), but a full divestment would leave Vivendi unbalanced and a shell of its former self.

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Spotify and the Music Industry: Who Needs Who More?

Zach Fuller

6 Apr 2018

Following Spotify’s DPO earlier this week, much of the financial commentary around the listing emphasised the company’s loss-making status. Those familiar with Spotify’s business model know this is attributable to the sizeable fees the company pays out to rights holders—the gatekeepers to the very content that allows Spotify to exist.

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What’s In A Number: Can Streaming Really Be Worth $28 Billion?

Mark Mulligan

30 Aug 2017

lehman brothers

Goldman Sachs just made some headlines with its assessment that Universal Music is worth $23.5 billion and that the paid streaming market will be worth $28 billion in 2030 (up from $3.5 billion in 2016 and close to double the size of the entire recorded music business in 2016).

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Watch Out Access, Liberty Media Is Building A Full Stack Music Company

Cover image for Watch Out Access, Liberty Media Is Building A Full Stack Music Company

Mark Mulligan

7 Sep 2016

Access Industries

Access Industries’ full stack music company has, ahem, company: Liberty Media. With a combined market market cap of $37 billion, John Malone’s Liberty group of companies is by anyone’s standards a serious player.

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