Universal Music

Report: Doug Morris to Step Down as Universal Music CEO

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 3, 2009 - 8:02am.

New York - Universal Music Group chairman and chief executive Doug Morris intends to step down from his CEO role next summer, BusinessWeek reports. The company is reportedly grooming international CEO Lucian Grainge to replace Morris, 71, who is expected to remain chairman of the world's largest record label.

Nokia Inks Promotional Deal With Universal Music, Rihanna

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 5, 2009 - 1:26pm.

Los Angeles - Nokia (NYSE: NOK) on Thursday announced a promotional partnership with Island Def Jam Music Group and Universal Music Group International, which will exclusively premiere tracks from Rihanna's forthcoming album with Nokia. The deal includes an exclusive, live streamed concert on Nokia websites. Additionally, Comes With Music customers will receive a version of the album with a bonus track and other additional content, while the Ovi Store will offer a Rihanna application with exclusive content.

AT&T to Sponsor Vevo Music Video Portal Venture

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 27, 2009 - 10:33am.

New York - Vevo, the online music video portal joint venture between Universal Music Group, Sony (NYSE: SNE) Music and Abu Dhabi Media Company, has signed AT&T (NYSE: T) as the first sponsor of the site.

Online Music Industry to Develop EU-Wide Licensing Scheme

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 21, 2009 - 9:22am.

Brussels - The EU's Competition Commissioner, Neelie Kroes, on Wednesday announced a partnership between European royalty collection societies, major labels and online music retailers including Apple (NASD: AAPL) and Amazon (NASD: AMZN), to develop an EU-wide licensing scheme for music. Currently, rights for music and other copyrighted works must be negotiated separately for each individual country, with that particular country's collection society.

Abu Dhabi Invests in Music Video Portal Joint Venture Vevo

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 19, 2009 - 8:19am.

New York - Vevo, the music video portal joint venture between Sony (NYSE: SNE) Music and Universal Music Group, has received an investment from Abu Dhabi Media Company, All Things D reports. While terms of the deal were not disclosed, the report cites a source who says the joint venture was valued at $300 million for the deal.

MOG to Debut $5 Streaming Music Service Next Month

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 14, 2009 - 11:36am.

Berkeley, Calif. - MOG, a network of user-created music blogs, announced on Wednesday that it has signed licensing deals with all four major record labels, and plans to launch its own digital music service in North America by the end of November.

Court Tosses Universal Music's Copyright Suit Against Veoh

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 14, 2009 - 10:42am.

Los Angeles - A federal court has dismissed a copyright infringement lawsuit brought by Universal Music Group against video-sharing site Veoh, finding that the company had satisfied all requirements under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). The judge noted that "the record presented demonstrates that, far from encouraging copyright infringement, Veoh has a strong DMCA policy, takes active steps to limit incidents of infringement on its website and works diligently to keep unauthorized works off its website."

Sony Music, EMI Not Convinced on Unlimited Download Model

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 10, 2009 - 11:27am.

London - Major record labels EMI and Sony (NYSE: SNE) Music have expressed doubt about the unlimited song download service model, arguing that it may in effect cannibalize existing sales, instead of woo non-paying file-swappers to a legal service, New Media Age reported.

Irish ISP Eircom, Major Labels Developing Music Service

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 4, 2009 - 7:43am.

Dublin, Ireland - Irish ISP Eircom, which agreed to block access to file-sharing hub The Pirate Bay, as well as suspend the accounts of repeat file-swappers, has also "signed a memorandum of understanding with the four major labels to develop an innovative new music service for all Irish consumers," the company said in a statement. Eircom did not provide any further details, but said that the service is expected to launch in the next few months.

Report: Vevo in Talks with CBS, NBC to Add Music Programming

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 2, 2009 - 8:34am.

New York - Vevo, the music video site joint venture between Universal Music Group and Sony (NYSE: SNE) Music that will be based on technology from Google's (NASD: GOOG) YouTube, is in talks with CBS (NYSE: CBS) and NBC (NYSE: GE) to license and develop music-related programming for the site, Reuters reported.

Report: Vevo Music Video JV Raising Funds at $300M Valuation

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 31, 2009 - 9:31am.

Los Angeles - Vevo, the music video website joint venture between Google's (NASD: GOOG) YouTube, and major record labels Universal Music and Sony (NYSE: SNE) Music, is currently in the process of raising new funding at a $300 million valuation, PaidContent reported.

Universal Music Taps Echospin to Power Web Sales, Promotions

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 25, 2009 - 12:28pm.

Los Angeles - Universal Music Group announced on Tuesday that its distribution and marketing unit has partnered with Echospin, which will now power direct-to-fan sales and promotions. Universal said the deal will mark the first time a major label and its artists, across all genres, will sell digital, physical and mobile goods all in one location.

tags: Marketing | Music | Universal Music | Echospin |

Majors to Launch Bandit.fm Aussie Unlimited Streaming Service

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 18, 2009 - 11:46am.

Sydney - The four major record labels are set to launch an unlimited streaming music service in Australia in October, the Sydney Morning Herald reports. Sony Music (NYSE: SNE) will reportedly operate Bandit.fm, which will offer unlimited streaming for about $10 AUS per month ($8.26 USD). It's unclear how large of a catalog the service will offer from Sony Music, Universal Music, EMI and Warner Music (NYSE: WMG), but it will likely eventually offer the ability to stream music through televisions.

Universal Music Taps BigChampagne for Online Metrics

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 18, 2009 - 11:41am.

New York - Universal Music Group on Tuesday announced a long-term partnership with BigChampagne, a provider of information and analytic tools about online media consumption. Under the deal, UMG will receive analysis of songs and listening patterns from millions of users of social networks and online music services, including file-sharing networks. Other BigChampagne clients including Viacom/MTV and Clear Channel's Premiere Radio Networks.

INgrooves to Handle Mobile for Universal Music North America

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 12, 2009 - 7:54pm.

New York - Universal Music Group Distribution has expanded its relationship with digital distributor and marketing services provider INgrooves, which will now handle mobile product distribution for all of Universal's major and distributed labels in North America. Under the deal, INgrooves will handle ringtones, ringbacks, games, video, streaming, wallpapers and other various mobile content for the entire label group.

tags: Mobile | Music | Universal Music | INgrooves |

Report: Major Labels to Introduce 'CMX' Digital Album Format

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 11, 2009 - 10:35am.

London - The four major record labels have been developing a new digital music album format, "CMX," that will combines songs, lyrics, artwork and videos into a single file, the Times Online reported. Sony (NYSE: SNE) Music, Warner Music (NYSE: WMG), EMI and Universal Music are said to have approached Apple 18 months ago about joining the project, but were rebuffed by the iTunes Store operator -- which is itself now working on a new digital album format called "Cocktail."

Report: Record Labels Paid $12.4 Million for 18% Spotify Stake

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 10, 2009 - 10:49am.

Palo Alto, Calif. - Spotify, the European ad-supported streaming music service preparing for a U.S. launch, has sold a 17.3% stake in the company for about $12.4 million to the four major record labels and independent label aggregator Merlin, TechCrunch reported.

Orange's Monkey Service Streams Music via Voice Calls

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 29, 2009 - 11:55am.

London - European wireless carrier Orange on Wednesday announced the launch of Monkey, a new service that offers free music streaming delivered over the company's voice, rather than data, network. The company partnered with Universal Music to provide content, while broadcaster Channel 4 will help promote the service, which is aimed at 16-24 year-olds keen on prepaid wireless plans.

FT: Apple, Labels Aim to Boost Digital Album Sales With Extras

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 27, 2009 - 7:46am.

Los Angeles - Apple (NASD: AAPL) has partnered with the four major record labels on a project, codenamed "Cocktail," that hopes to boost digital album sales by bundling extras like interactive booklets, liner notes and video clips, the Financial Times reported. "It's all about re-creating the heyday of the album when you would sit around with your friends looking at the artwork, while you listened to the music," one executive familiar with the plans told FT.

Universal Music, Moderati Debut Romplr Fan Remix iPhone App

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 14, 2009 - 12:00pm.

San Francisco - Universal Music's Interscope Geffen A&M label group said on Tuesday that it has partnered with mobile entertainment firm Moderati to launch Romplr, an iPhone application that lets fans create their own remixes and share them with friends. The first artist to use Romplr is Soulja Boy Tell 'Em, whose tracks "Crank That," "Hey You There" and "Turn My Swag On" will be available for $4.99 on the service. Fans will be able to share their mixes through Facebook Connect, email or on Romplr.com.

Report: Doug Morris to Step Down as Universal Music CEO

Nokia Inks Promotional Deal With Universal Music, Rihanna

AT&T to Sponsor Vevo Music Video Portal Venture

Online Music Industry to Develop EU-Wide Licensing Scheme

Abu Dhabi Invests in Music Video Portal Joint Venture Vevo

MOG to Debut $5 Streaming Music Service Next Month

Court Tosses Universal Music's Copyright Suit Against Veoh

Sony Music, EMI Not Convinced on Unlimited Download Model

Irish ISP Eircom, Major Labels Developing Music Service

Report: Vevo in Talks with CBS, NBC to Add Music Programming

Report: Vevo Music Video JV Raising Funds at $300M Valuation

Universal Music Taps Echospin to Power Web Sales, Promotions

Majors to Launch Bandit.fm Aussie Unlimited Streaming Service

Universal Music Taps BigChampagne for Online Metrics

INgrooves to Handle Mobile for Universal Music North America

Report: Major Labels to Introduce 'CMX' Digital Album Format

Report: Record Labels Paid $12.4 Million for 18% Spotify Stake

Orange's Monkey Service Streams Music via Voice Calls

FT: Apple, Labels Aim to Boost Digital Album Sales With Extras

Universal Music, Moderati Debut Romplr Fan Remix iPhone App

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