Lucian Grainge Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

“Eras Tour” has attracted enough fans to help boost hotel and restaurant revenue in cities across the world, and even contribute to concert ticket inflation, a phenomenon that some economists have termed “Swiftflation.”“Recently, Taylor Swift became the very first woman in history to have four albums in the top 10 simultaneously, including this week’s number one,” the company’s chief executive, Lucian Grainge, told analysts on a conference call.Universal Music’s merchandising revenue grew 12% to 157 million euros ($173.77 million) in the April-June period, also fueled by a strong performance from Swift, the group said.This more than offset a decline in Universal Music Group’s touring revenue from the outsized growth recorded in 2022 as COVID-19 touring bans were lifted, it added.Total revenue was 2.7 billion euros in the quarter, while its margin on adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) stood at 21.9%, the company reported.Universal Music expects recent price increases at Spotify to boost revenue starting from the fourth quarter and into 2024, its chief financial officer, Boyd Muir, said on the conference call.Spotify had on Monday raised prices for its premium plans across several countries including the US and Britain.Major labels like Universal Music grab the overwhelming majority of Spotify’s revenue and are the main beneficiaries of the streaming firm’s strong user growth.Apart from Swift, other top sellers in the second quarter were South Korean boy band Seventeen, King & Prince, Morgan Wallen, and Stray Kids, Universal Music said.

Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the talks.The goal is to reach a deal by the end of the year, the report said, noting the exact details are not yet worked out.While music sales have risen in recent years, artists and record labels say they are not getting paid enough. And now that music industry growth is slowing, even as fraud and piracy continue to siphon revenue from everyone in the business, the issue is even more complicated.Streaming giant Spotify, for instance, said earlier this year that it has paid out nearly $40 billion to music rights holders since its launch in 2006.

. That is, until she launched her TikTok account the same weekend as her star-studded wedding in the south of France to British music executive Elliot Grainge.Since then, her profile has exploded. All anyone can talk about on the platform is Richie: , her , her , the exact set of  she wore in one of her “get ready with me” videos, , barefoot, to Good Charlotte (her brother-in-law’s band) performing live at her wedding reception. “In all of the fame of my life, she was so famous that day," Lionel Richie, Sofia's singer-songwriter father, told  a couple days after the celebration.

LABELS & PUBLISHERSUniversal Music shareholders have agreed a new pay package for boss man Lucian Grainge, which will see his basic wage reduced by more than two thirds to $5 million. He will, however, be eligible for an annual performance bonus of $10 million, and is set to receive new stock options. So, you know, he’s not going to starve.

Warner Music CEO Robert Kyncl has echoed comments by his Universal counterpart Lucian Grainge on the need to restructure the way streaming royalties are paid out. Speaking on the major label’s Q2 earning’s call yesterday, he said that “it can’t be that [an] Ed Sheeran stream is worth exactly the same thing than a stream of rain falling on the roof”.The former YouTube exec’s comments came as he announced disappointing results for the record label, with revenues showing almost no growth year-on-year.

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Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor Driven by big releases from Morgan Wallen, Taylor Swift, Tomorrow X Together, Drake and others, Universal Music Group saw its revenues rise 11.5% year over year to $2.71 billion in the first quarter of 2023. But the company’s earnings call on Wednesday was just as newsworthy for the company doubling down on the strong remarks it has made about the fast-rising presence of — some would say threat from — AI in the music world, which hit UMG in the form of “Heart on My Sleeve,” a song using AI-generated soundalikes of two of the company’s biggest artists, Drake and the Weeknd.  “The recent explosive development in generative AI will, if left unchecked, both increase the flood of unwanted content hosted on platforms, and create rights issues with respect to existing copyright law, in the U.S. and other countries, as well as laws governing trademark, name and likeness, voice impersonation, and right of publicity,” chairman-CEO Lucian Grainge said on the call. 

Lionel Richie is one happy dad.

Lionel Richie couldn't be happier for his little girl and her new husband.The judge spoke with ET's Matt Cohen in Hollywood on Monday, after the season's first live show, and the legendary singer opened up about walking daughter Sofia Richie down the aisle this past weekend, in her wedding to Elliot Grainge.«This is [my] baby girl,» a beaming Lionel said of the deep significance of the event. «All I can say to you is, for every dad that's ever been this way or getting ready to experience it, it is a humbling time in your life. Because you're handing one of the loves of your life away.»«But really, I'll tell you a story, I've known Elliot since he was 9,» Lionel explained.

, 24, is a model and social media personality, and the daughter of 73-year-old R&B legend . The British-born Grainge, 29, is the founder of 10K Projects, an L.A.-based record label whose current artists Ice Spice, Between Friends, Internet Money, and Natalie Jane. Grainge is also the son of Sir Lucian Grainge, current chairman and CEO of Universal Music Group.

Just married! Sofia Richie and Elliot Grainge are officially married after tying the knot in a ceremony held on the French Riviera.

Ready to say “I do!” Sofia Richie and Elliot Grainge kicked off their wedding weekend on Friday, April 21.

Sofia Richie and her fiance Elliot Grainge are rumored to be getting married any day now and he just made some rare comments about their relationship!

Sofia Richie and her fiancé Elliot Grainge are having some fun in the sun ahead of their big day!

Sofia Richie converted to Judaism.

Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor Universal Music Group announced on Wednesday that its Board of Directors has extended the contract of Lucian Grainge, the company’s chairman and CEO, until May 1, 2028. According to the announcement, the “extended and amended” agreement transitions Grainge from an all-cash compensation package to one that is a combination of equity and cash and includes an equity compensation program with “a broad set of performance-based objectives aligned with shareholders’ interest and corresponding to the company’s long-term growth strategy. To assure the compensation program is aligned with shareholders’ interest, the majority of the compensation package’s economic value will be paid in UMG equity and UMG performance-based stock options.” Grainge’s annual salary under the new agreement will be reduced by more than two-thirds from his current salary, to $5 million, the announcement continues. Subject to the achievement of performance criteria, he will be eligible for an annual bonus with a target of $10 million. The EBITA bonus from his prior employment agreement has been eliminated and Grainge will only be entitled to the contingent bonus under his prior employment agreement on a pro rata basis until March 31, 2023. The equity components of the program include annual grants of $20 million, comprised of as much as 50% Performance Share Units (PSUs) — with annual PSU goals set by the Board of Directors — and the remainder comprised of Restricted Share Units (RSUs). 

Hundreds of celebs were in attendance at the 2023 Vanity Fair Oscar Party, making it one of the most star-studded events of the year!

ABBA‘s Voyage virtual concert experience could be making its way around the world.Universal Music Group chairman Lucian Grainge revealed in a company earnings call per Variety on Thursday (March 2): “Plans are now in development to take ‘ABBA Voyage’ around the world”. No other information – including targetted cities, venues and dates – has been announced.ABBA’s Voyage experience debuted at the ABBA Arena in London in May 2022.

ABBA’s heading across the world!

Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor ABBA’s ‘Voyage’ virtual concert — which opened in a specially built London arena last May and has sold more than 1 million tickets — will go on a global tour, Universal Music Group chairman Lucian Grainge confirmed during the company’s earnings call on Thursday. “Plans are now in development to take ‘ABBA Voyage’ around the world,” Grainge said on the call. Presumably, that means the show will be playing in specially modified arenas in major cities across the globe. Contacted by Variety, reps for ABBA and Universal, the group’s label, did not immediately have further information. While details are slim and the news is not a shock, it is the first official confirmation that the show — a multi-multi-million-dollar project, nearly six years in the making, that saw George Lucas’ Industrial Light & Magic using motion-capture technology to create “ABBA-tars” of the group as they looked in 1979 playing a 90-minute concert of their most-loved songs — will play somewhere besides the London theater. While technically not a hologram show, “Voyage” represents a new peak in that type of technology — the four bandmembers, who are now in their seventies, spent many hours performing for the motion-capture cameras to appear as lifelike as possible. It has received rave reviews nearly across the board.

Shirley Halperin Executive Editor, Music Universal Music Group is home to dozens of labels spanning every genre, from pop to hip-hop, rock to R&B, country to Latin and niche styles like Christian, classical and Jazz. To run one of these companies is to associate with top talent — household names like Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Drake and Lady Gaga — and the pressure to perform is equally massive. Which makes a label like Verve, which launched in the 1950s with the music of Ella Fitzgerald — and whose current roster includes left-of-center signings like Tank and the Bangas, Kurt Vile and Arooj Aftab — a sort of refuge in the giant commercial enterprise that is the world’s biggest music company. But Verve’s value to UMG is significant, and this is not lost on Sir Lucian Grainge, its chairman and CEO, who has given the label the leeway to invest in traditional artist development. What does that mean? For some familiar context: it’s letting an artist like Bruce Springsteen put out two albums achieving less-than-stellar sales so that he can reach a “Born to Run,” his third and career-launching release. Verve has its own success stories that follow this trajectory, like Jon Batiste, the former Stephen Colbert bandleader and master musician from New Orleans, whose “We Are” won album of the year at the 2022 Grammys.

CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last week, including Universal Music boss Lucian Grainge’s confirmation that a big old rejig of the way streaming monies are allocated to individual tracks by the digital platforms each month is a key priority for the biggest music rights company in the world, plus Dr Dre’s legal run-in with US Congress member Marjorie Taylor Greene.SECTION TIMES01: Lucian Grainge (00:06:51)02: Dr Dre (00:32:03)(Timings may be slightly different due to adverts)SUBSCRIBE TO SETLISTListen to Setlist and sign up to receive new episodes for free automatically each week through any of these services…Acast | Amazon Music | Apple Podcasts | audioBoom | CastBox | Deezer | Google Podcasts | iHeart | Mixcloud | RSS | Spotify | Stitcher | TuneInSTORIES DISCUSSED THIS WEEK• Universal boss says streaming needs to shift to an “artist-centric” model• Dr Dre sets lawyers on Marjorie Taylor Greene over copyright infringement• Marjorie Taylor Green responds to Dr DreALSO MENTIONED• Public Image Ltd vying to represent Ireland at Eurovision• Eurovision hopeful John Lydon brands competition “disgusting”MORE FROM CMU• Upcoming CMU webinars• Buy MMF and CMU Insights’ Dissecting The Digital Dollar book on Amazon• Sign up to receive the CMU Daily news bulletin• Listen to the full Setlist theme tune

DEALSNew Order managers Rebecca Boulton and Andrew Robinson have announced a new partnership with SJM Management to co-manage the band. “We have sought to future proof the band’s management and protect their legacy so the merger with SJM management is a good fit and maintains our independent sensibilities”, says Boulton and Robinson.————————————————–APPOINTMENTSLondon’s Royal Albert Hall has appointed James Ainscough as its new CEO. Formerly COO of the venue, Ainscough is currently CEO of Help Musicians and will move into his new role in the spring.

Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor Days after top YouTube exec Robert Kyncl was named as the next CEO of Warner Music Group, the company revealed in an SEC filing that he will earn approximately $15 million in his first year on the job, depending on performance targets. When Kyncl’s name was first mentioned as a potential successor to outgoing CEO Stephen Cooper, who leaves after 11 years in the role, many wondered whether the job would be sufficiently appealing for the executive who led Netflix from DVDs to streaming and has been YouTube’s business chief for much of his 12 years at the company. However, the SEC filing makes clear that the job is financially appealing: He will receive a base salary of $2 million, a target performance-based bonus of $3 million and an annual grant of performance share units with an aggregate, pre-tax value of $10 million.

Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor Universal Music Group has announced the launch of the Virgin Music Group, a new global division comprised of Virgin Music Label & Artist Services, Ingrooves Music Group and Mtheory Artist Partnerships. The third element is new to UMG: It has acquired Mtheory’s bespoke label division, Mtheory Artist Partnerships, although its manager services business is not part of the transaction and will remain wholly independent. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.   The Virgin Music Group, which brings the company’s label and artist services businesses under one unit, will be overseen by Mtheory founders JT Myers and Nat Pastor as co-CEOs, who will report directly to UMG Chairman and CEO Lucian Grainge. A specific breakdown of the units is below.

Sofia Richie is enjoying a night on the town with family!

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorUniversal Music Group racked up a strong earnings report for the second quarter of 2022, with about $2.7 billion in revenue, a growth of 17.3% in year-over-year in constant currency, a percentage gain that carries over for the entire first half of the year.Recorded-music revenues were up 16.2% (9% in constant currency) to around $1.96 billion, with streaming subscription revenue up 14.6% to $986 million. Subscription revenue saw a boost from a “DSP catch-up payment” (possibly from the Copyright Royalty Board’s confirmation of its 2018 streaming publisher rate increase) amounting to nearly $42 million in revenue and $26 million in both EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA.

Sofia Richie will one day walk down the aisle with her millionaire boo Elliot Grainge. The daughter of Lionel Richie searched for love with celebs like Justin Bieber and Scott Disick before finding the right person. They were first spotted in January 2021, went official in April, and after a year, they confirmed their engagement on April 20, 2022.

Future and Drake have shared the medieval-inspired new video for their collaboration ‘Wait For U’ – you can watch the clip below.The track, which also samples Tems, is taken from Future’s new album ‘I Never Liked You’, which was released last week (April 29).The video for ‘Wait For U’, which has been directed by Director X and produced by Taj Critchlow, was released last night (May 5) and stars Future, Drake, singer-songwriter Moxie Raia, model Cece Rose, producer ATL Jacob, rapper Strick and the comedian Trey Richards.Set in the medieval period, the clip tells “The Tale of the Toxic King” and follows Future as he goes through relationship issues with his queen. Drake, meanwhile, is seen at one point in the video riding a horse and saving a woman’s life.You can watch the video for Future and Drake’s ‘Wait For U’ above, and see behind-the-scenes shots from the video shoot on Drake’s Instagram below.A post shared by champagnepapi (@champagnepapi)Future’s ‘I Never Liked You’ also features guest appearances from Gunna, Young Thug, Kodak Black and Kanye West.

Drake has reportedly signed a huge new deal with Universal Music Group.According to Variety, UMG chairman Sir Lucian Grainge confirmed the deal in a Q1 earnings call yesterday (May 3). The outlet has described the deal with Drake as an “expansive, multi-faceted deal with the company that encompasses recordings, publishing, merchandise and visual media projects”.One insider described the Drake deal to Variety as “Lebron-sized,” in reference to LeBron James’ $154million (£123million) NBA deal to join the LA Lakers in 2018, without putting a number on it.The agreement is believed to be similar to The Weeknd‘s recent long-term deal with Universal.