Industry Context: Contemporary Context

Industry Context: Contemporary Context

There are 3 major music companies: Universal Music Group, Sony Music Group and Warner Music Group

Universal Music Group

Universal Music Group (UMG) is a Dutch-American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. It is the biggest music company in the world. Tencent acquired 10% of UMG in March 2020 for €3 billion and the French Bolloré family still owns 28% of UMG. The company went public in September 2021 at a valuation of €46 billion. As of April 2024, UMG's catalogue includes over 3 million recordings and 4 million compositions.

Sony Music Group

Sony Music Group (SMG) is the American multinational music company owned by Sony Entertainment and managed by the American umbrella division of multinational conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the publishing division, Sony Music Publishing.

Warner Music Group

Warner Music Group (WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the “big three” recording companies and the third-largest in the global music industry, after Universal Music Group and Sony Music Group.

WMG employs more than 4500 people and has operations in more than 50 countries throughout the world. The company owns and operates some of the largest and most successful labels in the world, including Elektra Records, Reprise Records, Warner Records, Parlophone Records and Atlantic Records. WMG also owns Warner Chappell Music, one of the world's largest music publishers.