Dear UMPG Colleagues:
I write to share some news.
After a wonderful thirty years at
Universal Music Group, it’s time for me to move on and explore other opportunities.
Three decades ago I joined what was then
MCA Records--ranked last among all the majors and was fortunate to play a key role in growing it into the #1 music company in the world Universal Music Group. Along the way, I had the privilege of learning from industry giants like
Lew Wasserman and
Sid Sheinberg, and bosses like
Irving Azoff,
Myron Roth,
Al Teller,
Doug Morris,
Edgar Bronfman and
Lucian Grainge. It’s been a remarkable experience. As the President and Chief Operating Officer of UMG for over 12 years, I worked with so many talented people here to help grow UMG into the most dynamic music company in history. As UMG and the industry morphed and evolved over the years, I was thrust into virtually every area of the modern music business.
Among the highlights of my time at UMG: I negotiated the company’s transformational deals to acquire
Geffen Records,
Interscope Records, and
Polygram, where I served as one of four people on UMG’s Executive Oversight Team. That Team was responsible for devising and overseeing the global integration of Polygram’s recording and publishing assets into Universal, considered one of the most successful mergers in the history of the music business.
I led the charge that took Universal’s Latin music business from last place to first place in just two years, including architecting our acquisition of the biggest Latin record companies in the U.S.—
Univision,
Fonovisa and
Disa. This gave us more than a 50% market share in Latin music.
I negotiated groundbreaking deals with artists and digital services. I helped launch
Vevo, and was a founding Board member. I also conceived and launched Universal’s first record company in Japan, a unique joint venture with
Victor Entertainment that brought us their employees and artists—and made us an instant major in the country.
Throughout my time at UMG, I’ve always had a special passion for music publishing. I championed the company’s purchase of
Rondor Music—then the biggest independent music publishing company in the world. I led the acquisition and integration of
BMG Music, which made us the then-biggest music publishing company in the world. That is why it was such a special pleasure for me, two years ago, to become the Chairman and CEO of
Universal Music Publishing Group and devote all my attention to running UMPG’s global operations in more than 40 countries around the world. I consider that experience to be a true capstone of my career at the company.
We achieved so much in our two years together. Among the highlights: We brought n the catalogs of such iconic artists as
Billy Joel,
Neil Diamond,
Burt Bacharach,
Journey’s
Steve Perry,
Rick Rubin,
Juan Luis Guerra,
Alejandro Sanz, the
Grateful Dead and
INXS.
We signed and/or developed such chart topping artists as
Miguel,
Miley Cyrus,
Imagine Dragons,
Disclosure,
Bastille,
Axwell and
Ingrosso from
Swedish House Mafia,
Gregory Porter, and
Germany’s
Cro.
We acquired the historic, 70-year-old
Criterion Music catalog--which gave us everything from
Charlie Parker’s songs to “These Boots Are Made for Walking”.
We bought the
BBC catalog, featuring music from some of the most recognizable television shows in the United Kingdom. We celebrated record-breaking success with
Justin Timberlake,
Mumford & Sons,
Eminem, and, of course,
Adele.
We renewed our deals with
Warner Bros Films,
Coldplay,
the Clash and
Paul Simon.
We signed a new deal to represent
DreamWorks Animation and the music in all of its productions.
We had chart-topping success after chart-topping success in Nashville with
Luke Laird,
Troy Verges,
Hunter Hayes and
Shane McAnally.
We signed new deals that brought us such hit songs as “Wake Me Up,” “Say Something,” “Best Song Ever,” the dance sensation “Animal,” and “Call Me Maybe” (which
Amazon named their biggest-selling single of all time).
We merged
EMI’s Christian Music publishing company with our own
Brentwood Benson to become the dominant force in the Christian Music genre.
We purchased the interests of our partners in Turkey and India so that both companies are now wholly owned.
We launched a host of groundbreaking digital initiatives--including being the first publishing company to ensure that our songwriters were paid by the largest multichannel networks, and pioneering a digital rights services team which now detects and claims tens of thousands of videos every month on
YouTube so that our writers can be paid.
I take particular pride in our role as a driving force to change the Consent Decrees that govern
ASCAP and
BMI so that our songwriters can truly have the opportunity to earn fair and reasonable compensation for their work.
It has been an honor to work at UMPG with each of you. I can’t stress enough my gratitude for how rewarding and satisfying you made the experience for me. Together we made a real difference. I will never forget your work ethic, passion for your job, and concern for your songwriters.
Whatever my next chapter will be, all of you will forever hold a special place in my heart. If you need me, I can be reached at
[email protected]Zach