All of the Clay Nation has been celebrating the announcement that Clay Aiken has signed with Universal Music’s Decca Recordings. According to their site, the Universal Music Group is the world’s leading music company and has operations in 77 countries throughout the world. This is where Clay Aiken belongs.
If you are interested in reading an overview of the company or learn more about its history, you can read at the Home page for Universal Music Group or visit Clay, the Man. I am more interested in the future and what Decca will do to help Clay Aiken.
One of the biggest problems for all the major Music groups has to do with digital music distribution. In the past few years, the sale of CD’s has dropped significantly because people are downloading songs from the internet. Some still go to illegal sites to download for free, but most visit sites like I-Tunes, Rhapsody, Amazon, and Wal Mart to download their favorite songs. This practice has eaten into the profits of the music labels and they have been struggling to find a solution.
Universal Music Group Distribution is the sales and marketing division of Universal Music Group. On July 9th, 2009, they entered into a strategic alliance with TuneCore, a leading digital music distribution company.
As part of this agreement, TuneCore will provide and host distribution sites for UMG’s labels as well as partner labels and artists. TuneCore allows artists to sell their music directly to fans through major on-line stores.
Jim Urie is the President and CEO of Universal Music Group Distribution. In July, he said the following about this new alliance:
“Our agreement with TuneCore highlights UMGD’s commitment to a strong sales philosophy and long-term artist development. UMGD is uniquely positioned to provide the most flexible and comprehensive digital and physical distribution, sales and marketing services in the industry, all of which results in more profitable opportunities for both our labels and our artists.”
“Honestly, Universal is one of the most forward thinking record labels on the planet,” commented Mr. Price who is the founder and CEO of TuneCore. “With this deal UMGD has truly changed the rules and the major label model by providing true choice for a musician.”
The following two paragraphs are from the Universal Music Group Website under news. Their explanation of the two companies is precise and easy to understand.
About Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group is the world’s leading music company with wholly owned record operations or licensees in 77 countries. Its businesses also include Universal Music Publishing Group, the industry’s leading global music publishing operation.
Universal Music Group\’s record labels include Decca, Deutsche Grammophon, Disa, Emarcy, Fonovisa, Interscope Geffen A&M Records, Island Def Jam Music Group, Lost Highway Records, Machete Music, MCA Nashville, Mercury Nashville, Mercury Records, Philips, Polydor Records, Universal Motown Republic Group, Universal Music Latino, Universal Records South, and Verve Music Group as well as a multitude of record labels owned or distributed by its record company subsidiaries around the world. The Universal Music Group owns the most extensive catalog of music in the industry, which includes the last 100 years of the world\’s most popular artists and their recordings. UMG\’s catalog is marketed through two distinct divisions, Universal Music Enterprises (in the U.S.) and Universal Strategic Marketing (outside the U.S.). Universal Music Group also includes eLabs, its new media and technologies division; Bravado, its merchandising company; Twenty-First Artists, its full service management division; and Helter Skelter, its live music agency.
Universal Music Group is a unit of Vivendi, a global media and communications company.
About TuneCore
TuneCore is a low, flat fee service that distributes music to iTunes, eMusic, Rhapsody and many other major download and streaming sites while taking no rights and no revenue from the sale of the music. Artists are building careers, selling significant volumes of music and generating revenue through TuneCore. Since its launch in 2006, TuneCore has distributed tens of thousands of albums and millions of songs to iTunes and other digital stores by Grammy winners and unsigned artists alike. TuneCore artists include Drake, Beck, Jay-Z, Aretha Franklin, Keith Richards, Public Enemy, Nine Inch Nails, Ricky Skaggs, Paul Westerberg, MGM Studios, Warren G, Bjork, Moby, High School Musical cast members, Ali Lohan, Cirque Du Soleil, Starbucks and tens of thousands more. TuneCore currently distributes between 150 – 250 release a day (more music is released in one day via TuneCore than any major record label over a year) and recently expanded its offering to distribute full-length films, TV shows, live concerts, documentaries etc to iTunes and more.
Deals like this show that UMG is looking to the future and ready to support their artists in many ways. That sounds like the kind of company that is a good fit for Clay Aiken.