Do we like them?

Do we like Universal Music Group?

World's biggest record label and music publisher (Interscope, Capitol, Def Jam and more). Operational HQ in Santa Monica, California.

Our score: 5 out of 10. Mixed. It makes real money for big artists and is trying licensed AI deals, but it faces pay rows and a musicians' union suit, and one family and a few big funds control it.

UMG is the biggest name in recorded music. Sir Lucian Grainge runs it as chairman and CEO from Santa Monica. It got there partly by buying EMI's recorded-music business in 2011, which revived Capitol Records.

It's listed in Amsterdam but still has a few heavy hitters behind it. Bolloré entities held 18% and Bill Ackman's Pershing Square 10% at the listing. In April 2026 Pershing offered to buy the lot and move it to New York, with a new contract for Grainge. UMG said it backed its management.

Pay has been a sore point. Shareholders approved Grainge's €138.8m 2023 package in a non-binding vote. That was despite Glass Lewis calling the pay excessive and saying the board lacked independence. Four big holders control about 58% of the voting shares.

AI is the big drama. UMG sued Udio in 2024, then settled in late 2025 with a licence for a new opt-in platform. It says artists and songwriters get paid for training and for outputs. The American Federation of Musicians then sued UMG and Warner, accusing them of licensing its members' recordings to AI firms without pay or credit.

Our score is 5. UMG backs its artists and tries to get them paid for AI use. But it is tightly controlled and richly paid at the top, and it now faces a union suit over who shares the AI money.