16th Apr 2013
UK albums ascend in Q1

UK album sales have risen for the first quarter in three years in the first three months of this year, climbing by 1.4%. The rise is attributed to albums from big pop hitters such as Emeli Sande, Jake Bugg and the cast of Les Miserables along with the recurring success of the Now That's What... franchise.
20th Mar 2013
Universal: Like a Virgin

Universal Music has announced the formation of Virgin EMI Records in the UK, a new label that will effectively bring together Virgin and Mercury Records with a combined roster of Elton John, Kanye West, Arcade Fire, Rihanna, Jake Bugg, Emeli Sandé and Taylor Swift alongside emerging artists such as Chvrches, you might say that it's off to a stronger commercial start than the majority of new
20th Feb 2013
Warner enters state of independents

Global rights agency Merlin and trade association Impala have struck a groundbreaking deal with Warner to help strengthen the independent sector following the proposed sale of Parlophone to the major this month.
11th Feb 2013
Parlophone / Warner: Rock auction

After refusing to play nice with Google last week, the Parlophone label is back in the headlines and the speculation surrounding its sale is over- but the iconic label hasn’t gone to Sony and BMG, as widely predicted.
14th Nov 2012
IFPI report: Labels defy downturn

The IFPI has reported that record companies invested approximately £2.8bn in A&R and marketing last year, in the midst of the global economic downturn - suggesting that labels remain the primary investors in artists.
27th Sep 2012
Universal green light for EMI

Universal have gained unprecedented music industry power and prestige as The European Commission approve their £1.2bn takeover of EMI.
26th Jul 2012
Truly Universal Debate

As Universal finalises its divestment plan to try and win approval for the EMI bid, the independent music sector seems completely divided on what it could mean for them.
18th Jul 2012
IMPALAD on your own sword?

Yet more Universal drama- In a bizarre 48 hours, European music trade association IMPALA have restated their opposition to Universal’s controversial take-over of EMI despite Co-President Patrick Zelnick going a bit ‘Colonel Kurtz’ and publicly backing the merger.
11th Jul 2012
Pinteresting Developments

Users of rising social media site Pinterest can now ‘pin’ or embed tracks from Soundcloud onto their page in addition to sharing video, but does the site have the potential to be a useful tool for artists?Some artists are already using the site as a kind of digital scrapbook, sharing photographs and other visual artefacts with fans. The potential for content to ‘go viral’ as the now ominous sounding corporate cliché goes is quite similar to Twitter, with other users able to ‘repin’ what you post.
11th Jul 2012
Prince: The Universal Sigh

“The Beautiful Ones, they hurt you every time” sang Prince on the third track of his seminal soundtrack LP Purple Rain. It seems that Universal are learning that lesson the hard way this week with the news that the famously fractious pop star has exited his publishing deal with the company.Prince manager Kiran Sharma said in a statement: "We are pleased to announce that Prince and Universal have reached a mutual agreement in terminating their long standing publishing deal”.