Industrial context- The brand
1935
The companies Greater New York Film rental and FOX office attractions Co. merged with the 20th century pictures and established the company 20th century FOX. The company is established on 31 May 1935.
1947
Reinhard Mohn re-founded the company
1952
The U.K.-based Decca Record Co., which launched Decca Records in the United States, acquired a controlling interest in Universal Pictures in 1952, while Music Corporation of America MCA , acquired the Universal Studios property for its newly created TV division, MCA Inc.
1959
The company was incorporated as MCA Inc. and it became a public company in 1959.
1962
Universal Pictures and MCA Inc. merged in 1962 when MCA acquired Decca Records.
1964
The year 1964 marked the beginning of MCA Music Publishing with MCA's purchase of Leeds Music and Duchess Music, while Universal began opening its Universal City lot doors for visitors, marking the birth of its recreation and theme park operations.
1969
With more than 2 million subscribers, UMG also maintains the largest mail order music video club in Europe, Britannia, a UK-based operation founded in 1969.
1970
The company also operates DIAL, the largest music video club in France founded in 1970.
1972
The company opened the Universal Amphitheatre in 1972, initiating the company's interests in owning and operating concert venues and live entertainment promotion.
The company reorganizes as PolyGram in 1972, the same year they acquired Verve Records.
1980
The company expanded throughout the 1980s, first acquiring the London-based classical music label Decca in 1980.
1990
In November 1990, Japanese multinational conglomerate Matsushita Electric agreed to acquire MCA for 6.59 billion.
1995
In 1995 the company moved into Latin America when it bought Rodven Records, the region's largest independent record company.
In 1995, Seagram acquired 80 percent of MCA from Matsushita.
1996
On December 9, 1996, the company was renamed Universal Studios, Inc., and its music division was renamed Universal Music Group MCA Records continued as a label within the Universal Music Group
1997
The sales in 1997 have been 5.58 billion.
1998
The company's long and varied history can be understood by tracing the evolution of the two main companies that eventually came together in 1998 to form UMG, Polygram and Universal.
In 1998 the separate histories of these two groups came together when Universal owner Seagram acquired PolyGram and renamed the newly combined music operations of the two Universal Music Group.
1999
In 1999 the UM3 was launched, UM3 is a division of Universal Music International that covers all areas of strategic catalog marketing outside North America.
In 1999, Bertelsmann introduced bol.com.
2000
Parent company Vivendi Universal, also owner of Hollywood's Universal Studios, bought UMG from former owner Seagram in 2000.
Acquires Rondor Music Vivendi Canal Plus merges with Seagram in 2000, resulting in Vivendi Universal, now parent to UMG.
2001
Analysts estimate that music sales were off 10 percent in 2001, with poor sales in the largest two markets, the United States and Japan.
To cover a variety of media, UMG also partnered with Popstars television shows in several European countries in 2001.
Over the following five years, its funding created or maintained 18,000 jobs in local services 1,377 jobs created in 2001 alone.
One of every four albums sold worldwide in 2001 was a Universal album.
2002
Evidence of that could be found at the 44th Grammy Awards ceremony held in February 2002, where UMG snagged 32 awards.
Artist development will key for the company moving into 2002 and beyond as the overall slump in the music industry forces the company to come up with the next big thing that will stimulate record sales in the United States and worldwide.
2004
Vivendi subsidiary In May 2004, Universal Music Group was cast under separate management from Universal Studios, when French media conglomerate Vivendi sold 80 of the latter to General Electric, who subsequently merged it with NBC to form NBCUniversal.
2006
In February 2006, Vivendi purchased the remaining 20 percent of UMG from Matsushita Electric.
2008
On October 1, 2008 Bertelsmann sold 50 of Sony BMG to Sony Corporation of America.
2010
In April 2010, The company’s first advertising platform is introduced, also called Promoted Tweets. The first promoted Tweet was by Advertising Age.
2011
Starting in 2011 UMG's Interscope Geffen A M Records began signing contestants from American Idol Idol series.
2012
In March 2012, the European Union opened an investigation into the acquisition The EU asked rivals and consumer groups whether the deal would result in higher prices and shut out competitors.
The British Broadcasting Corporation BBC is a British public service broadcaster and is the largest broadcaster in the world with around 23.000 employees and an income of 5.086 billion in 2012.
2013
On March 20, 2013, UMG announced the worldwide extension of their exclusive distribution deal with the Disney Music Group, excluding Japan.
In August 2013, UMG became the first company in the US to have nine of the Top 10 songs on the digital charts, according to SoundScan and weeks later, became the first company to hold all 10 of the Top 10 spots on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart.
2014
Universal Music Group entered into film and TV production with the 2014 purchase of Eagle Rock Entertainment.
2015
In 2015, UMG's Capitol Records earned all the major Grammy Awards for the year, with Sam Smith receiving Best New Artist, Record of the Year and Song of the Year awards and Beck winning Album of the Year.
2017
In August 2017, UMG and Grace Beyond agreed to develop three new music-based television series, 27, Melody Island and Mixtape.
In December 2017, Universal Music Group acquired the catalogues of Stiff Records and ZTT Records, along with Perfect Songs Publishing, from Trevor Horn's SPZ Group.
2018
In August 2018, UMG announced a strategic expansion in Africa, opening an office in Abidjan to oversee French-speaking Africa, and also unveiling a Universal Music Nigeria office in Lagos to focus on signing local artists and taking them global.
On November 19, 2018, singer-songwriter Taylor Swift signed a new multi-album deal with UMG, in the United States, her future releases will be promoted under the Republic Records imprint.
In Nielsen's 2018 US Music Mid-Year report, UMG made history with eight of the Top 10 artists, including all of the top five, as well as all of the top eight artists ranked by on-demand audio streams.
2019
In February 2019, UMG fully acquired music distributor INgrooves.
UMG was named to Fast Company's annual list of the World's 50 Most Innovative Companies for 2019, the first major music company to be included on the list in a decade.
2020
The company and Lego Group announced a music product partnership on April 26, 2020.
