Vivendi

Max Hole, President of the Asia Pacific Region and Executive Vice President, Universal Music Group International (UMGI) (ASDR 2008)

Promotion of Local Talents

« Universal Music Group remains committed to investing in artists & repertoires and nowhere is that more apparent than in our activities on the local level. Our proactive approach in the discovery, development, marketing and distribution of local artists and companies reflect a multicultural outlook that is important to our company. Juanes, the multi-platinum rock/pop artist from Colombia, is a case in point. His initial, regional success was magnified into global popularity through UMG’s support, as audiences not traditionally receptive to Latin American-based styles and flavours responded enthusiastically. The singer’s most recent album, for example, was certified gold in Hungary, Romania and Russia.
Equally, the young German rock band Tokio Hotel reached remarkable heights of popularity in Europe – singing in their native language. Their albums Schrei and Zimmer 483 have been certified platinum or gold in Mexico, Italy, Russia, Spain, France, Greece and Portugal, as well as the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Switzerland and Belgium.
An even more unusual example of UMG’s multi-cultural ethos concerns the Cistercian Monks of Stift Heiligenkreuz, from a monastery in Austria. Signed to Universal Music after submitting a sample of their singing via YouTube, these masters of Gregorian chant made their first-ever commercial album and became a significant international success in 2008, bringing the spirit of the cloisters to a wider world. Their album, Chant, reached the top 10 of the U.K. pop album charts and No. 1 on the Billboard U.S. classical music charts. In Asia, UMG partnered with Eros International, the leading integrated studio in India’s media and entertainment industry, to launch a joint-venture artist-management agency to groom and promote Indian pop talent locally and globally. The initiative will focus on marketing and promotional initiatives for new, undiscovered pop acts from around India and will ensure that fresh new artists will be signed and promoted throughout India, as well as internationally. Offering more music and more choice is a positive for fans, the artists and the market as a whole. »