Universal Music Group

Universal Music Group:

Who owns the company?
• Vivendi SA

Where is it based?
• New York city

What other countries does it have offices?
- Has offices in 72 countries:
• Argentina
• Austria
• Australia
• Baltics
• Belgium
• Brazil
• Canada
• Chile
• China
• Colombia
• Czech Republic
• Denmark
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Greece
• Hong Kong
• Hungary
• India
• Indonesia
• Ireland
• Italy
• Japan
• Korea
• Malaysia
• Mexico
• Netherlands
• New Zealand
• Norway
• Polska
• Portugal
• Romania
• Russia
• Singapore
• Spain
• Sweden
• Switzerland
• Taiwan
• Thailand
• Venezuela

Is it part of the same company as:
- a music publishing group – YES – Universal Music Publishing Group
- a music distribution company – YES – Universal Music Group Distribution
- a film or television studio – YES – Canal Plus Group
- a radio station – NO
- a company which makes hardware/software – NO
- a video games company – YES – Activation Blizzard
- a telecommunications company – YES – Global Village Telecom

Record Sales:
• $6.14 billion (2007)

Record Labels Bought By Universal Music Group:
• Interscope Geffen A&G
• Verve Records
• Decca label Group
• Island Def Jam Music Group
• Universal Motown Republic Group

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.

I think that the music industry has changed a lot over the past 40 years. The way we listen and get hold of music has changed as well because of the technologies available to us.

   40 years ago, people first heard new music on the radio and a rare few heard it on the TV. When anything happened to an artist, people usually found out about it by reading the newspaper, hearing about it on the radio and in the rare occasion it might make it into the news on the TV.

   When people wanted to listen to music, they either listened to it on the radio, or they went to a shop and brought a record if they had a record player to play it on. If they wanted to play the music to other people, they would have to invite them round, perhaps for dinner or a catch up and play the music in the background.

   Nowadays people hear music through other people talking/playing their music whether it is on their computer or iPod or even on their mobile phones. If they are at home and they have found a new artist/song, they can share links from YouTube on Facebook where everyone can see it. For the more traditional people, you can still buy music in a CD form.

   It is really easy to get hold of music; you can download it for a price straight from your iPod or iPhone. Or you can also illegally download it from loads of websites on the internet. Once you have the song, you can even send it to other people via Bluetooth on your phone.

   For news about music, they can be found in celebrity/music magazines, on the TV on music channels, in the newspaper and if it’s a major crisis it sometimes makes it onto the main news for example Michael Jackson’s death was all over the media for weeks after his death.

   All the different technologies have made it easier for artists to engage with their fans. Social Networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook make it easier for artists to talk to their fans and keep them up to date with all the latest news and what gigs they will be playing at. This also makes the audience feel like they know the artist more and will be more likely to buy their music and attend their concerts.

   To conclude I think that the music industry has changed considerably in 40 years. This is because of the way people think and listen to music and the amount of technology available to us to get hold of music has increased.

Record Labels

a) What does a record label do?
- A record label enables 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
- Pay for the recording and mixing of albums
- Manufacture and Distribute the recordings (to retailers)
- Promote and artists and their music
- Enforce the copyright laws

c) Why might an artist want to be signed to a record label?
- A record label can help to promote you as a new artist so that the public can recognize your music and you as an artist. They can also help to provide the financial support system which allows them to pursue music full-time.

d) Give four examples of ways in which record labels make money (Revenue Streams)?
- Selling albums/singles of the artist
- Money from tour tickets
- Royalties
- Investment

e) Name the 'big four' record labels (majors) and name two well-known artists who are signed to each one.
- EMI:
  - Kylie Minogue
  - Dizzee Rascal

- Sony BMG:
  - Beyonce
  - Justin Timberlake

- Universal Music Group:
  - Justin Bieber
  - Black Eyed Peas

- Warner Music Group:
  - Michael Buble
  - Madonna

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.