umg blog by MIDiA Research

Blog: umg

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

Blog post by 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,...

The music industry’s centre of gravity is shifting

Blog post by Mark Mulligan

16 Apr 2021

creator tools

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...

What UMG’s IPO Means for the Business of Music

Blog post by Mark Mulligan

14 Feb 2020

Access Industries

Bolloré Group

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...

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

Blog post by Mark Mulligan

9 Dec 2019

a-pop

ad agencies

EPL

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...

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

Blog post by Mark Mulligan

23 Aug 2019

apple tv_

Games

google chrome

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...

What Happens When Tencent Owns 10% of UMG?

Blog post by Zach Fuller

22 Aug 2019

Innovation

Media

umg

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...

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

Blog post by Mark Mulligan

6 Aug 2019

bytedance

i-mode

tencent

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...

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

Blog post by Mark Mulligan

1 Jul 2019

Amuse

awakl

Bandcamp

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’...

Just Who Would Buy Universal Music?

Blog post by Mark Mulligan

14 Jan 2019

Access Industries

artists direct

Bolloré Group

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...

Taylor Swift, Label Services and What Comes Next

Blog post by Mark Mulligan

22 Nov 2018

#MERKY

ADA

Billy Bragg

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...

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

Blog post by Zach Fuller

6 Nov 2018

african streaming

boomplay

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...

Could Spotify Buy Universal?

Blog post by Mark Mulligan

11 May 2018

Alphabet

Amazon

AOL

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...

Spotify and the Music Industry: Who Needs Who More?

Blog post by Zach Fuller

6 Apr 2018

Kobalt

netflix

Sony

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...

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

Blog post by Mark Mulligan

30 Aug 2017

goldman sachs

lehman brothers

streaming

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...

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

Blog post by Mark Mulligan

7 Sep 2016

Access Industries

BMG

Deezer

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...