Universal Music Group Inks Long-Term Agreement with Republic Records Founders

Universal Music Group (UMG), the world's leading music company, has signed new long-term agreements with Republic Records founders Monte Lipman and Avery Lipman as they become Chairman & Chief Executive Officer and President & Chief Operating Officer, respectively, of the company they started as an independent label in 1995. The announcement was made today by UMG Chairman & Chief Executive Officer Lucian Grainge, and UMG Chairman & CEO of East Coast Labels Barry Weiss.

"Monte and Avery have established themselves as one of the industry's most formidable creative teams," stated Mr. Grainge. "They are truly world class music executives who have rewritten the rules for breaking new talent. We couldn't be more delighted that they will continue building Republic as a home for truly inventive artists."

"Monte and Avery are two of the most entrepreneurial, effective, street smart, creative leaders in the music industry," commented Mr. Weiss. "Their track record is unparalleled. They constantly think out of the box and their results speak for themselves. This is great for them and for Universal Music Group, and is just the beginning of their next chapter."

"We work every day towards building a culture that supports the artist community and the entrepreneurial spirit that shapes our company," added Monte and Avery. "The unparalleled support of Lucian and Barry for Republic continues to inspire us to be competitive, while serving the needs of our extraordinary artists, venture partners, and dynamic executives."

Most recently, Republic Records scored chart-topping releases with Of Monsters and Men, The Weeknd (XO), and Grammy-nominated Florence + the Machine. The label is also responsible for Record of the Year nominee Gotye, and his multi-platinum record "Somebody That I Used to Know" [Featuring Kimbra], in addition to the Worldwide phenomenon, "Gangnam Style" by the South Korean rapper, PSY (Schoolboy Records.)

Republic also expanded into the very lucrative areas of film and television, scoring hits with the smash NBC-TV hit series The Voice and partnering with the network's Saturday Night Live for Andy Samberg's 'The Lonely Island' and AMC's The Walking Dead. Republic also released three of this year's five Oscar-nominated Best Original Songs with "Suddenly" by Hugh Jackman in Les Miserables, Norah Jones "Everybody Needs a Best Friend" in TED, and Scarlett Johansson and Joshua Bell "Before My Time" in Chasing Ice (Lava Records). In addition, they've already achieved extraordinary success with Lions Gate's The Hunger Games, Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained (Loma Vista) and this year's Oscar host, the multi-talented Grammy-nominated Seth MacFarlane.

Monte and Avery were also among the first to realize the importance of collaborating with entrepreneurial ventures to expand their creative investment. To date they have enjoyed long-standing and highly successful partnerships and strategic alliances with many of the industry's leading independent labels, including Cash Money Records (Lil Wayne, Drake, Nicki Minaj, Tyga), Big Machine (Taylor Swift), Brushfire Records (Jack Johnson), Republic Nashville (The Band Perry, Eli Young Band, Florida Georgia Line), Lava Records (Jessie J, Black Veil Brides), XO (The Weeknd), American Recordings (The Avett Brothers), School Boy Records (PSY) and Loma Vista (Soundgarden), among others.

Upcoming Republic releases include new albums from Akon, Black Sabbath, Colbie Caillat, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Soundtrack, Lil Wayne (Cash Money Records), Enrique Iglesias, Jessie J (Lava Records), Kid Cudi, Austin Mahone (Chase), Nelly, The Voice's Cassadee Pope, Kelly Rowland, Drake (Young Money/Cash Money Records), Damian Marley (Tuff Gong), The Band Perry (Republic Nashville), Nicki Minaj (Young Money/Cash Money Records), 3 Doors Down, The Lonely Island, The Weeknd (XO) and Tyga (Young Money/Cash Money Records), among others.

About Republic Records
A division of Universal Music Group, the world's leading music company, Republic is home to an all-star roster of multi-platinum, award-winning Legends and superstar artists such as 3 Doors Down, Akon, Amy Winehouse, Black Sabbath, Colbie Caillat, Eddie Vedder (Monkeywrench), Enrique Iglesias, Florence + the Machine, Godsmack, Kelly Rowland, Kid Cudi, Mika, Nelly, Owl City, The Voice (NBC-TV), Gotye, Of Monsters & Men, Mayer Hawthorne, among many others.

It is comprised of innovative imprints and digital business ventures including Republic Nashville (The Band Perry, Eli Young Band, Florida Georgia Line), Cash Money Records (Lil Wayne, Drake, Nicki Minaj), American Recordings (The Avett Brothers), Lava Records (Jessie J, Black Veil Brides), Aware Records (Mat Kearney), Brushfire (Jack Johnson, G. Love), Tuff Gong (Damian Marley), XO (The Weeknd), Loma Vista (Soundgarden) among others.

About Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group is the global music leader, with wholly owned operations in 60 territories. Its businesses also include Universal Music Publishing Group, one of the industry's premier music publishing operations worldwide.

Universal Music Group's record labels include A&M/Octone, Angel, Astralwerks, Blue Note, Capitol Records, Decca, Def Jam Recordings, Deutsche Grammophon, Disa, Emarcy, Fonovisa, Geffen Records, Interscope Records, I.R.S., Island Records, Lost Highway Records, Machete Music, Manhattan, MCA Nashville, Mercury Nashville, Mercury Records, Motown Records, Polydor Records, Republic Records, Universal Music Latino, Verve Music Group and Virgin Records, as well as a multitude of record labels owned or distributed by its record company subsidiaries around the world. The Universal Music Group owns the most extensive catalogue of music in the industry, which includes the last 100 years of the world's most popular artists and their recordings. UMG's catalogue is marketed through two distinct divisions, Universal Music Enterprises (in the U.S.) and Universal Strategic Marketing (outside the U.S.). Universal Music Group also includes Global Digital Business, its new media and technologies division and Bravado, its merchandising company.

Universal Music Group is a fully owned subsidiary of Vivendi.

SOURCE Universal Music Group