UMPG boss Jody Gerson, with her own global beast fully built and going strong, inked (among others) new-school biggies like Lil Tecca, Rosalía, DaBaby, Tierra Whack, Logic and Lil Baby, nabbed global multi-media idol Idris Elba, closed a pact with Nashville star Maren Morris and did global deals for veterans Alicia Keys and Mariah Carey. Add these to windfalls for Post Malone, Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish, Halsey, Shawn Mendes, J. Balvin and more, a catalog resurgence for fledgling movie mogul Elton John and a year-ending debut for Harry Styles; expect 2020 sets from Justin Bieber and Adele to kick Uni into overdrive. Having the catalogs of Prince, Springsteen, Billy Joel, Barry Gibb, et al, also doesn’t hurt. In a major coup, the pubbery nabbed longtime SATV Nashville boss Troy Tomlinson to run its Music City operation, where Gerson is upping the ante.
Seen divining a formula for DaBaby are (l-r) South Coast Music Group CEO Arnold Taylor, UMPG Chairman/CEO Gerson, DaBaby, UMPG A&R Gelaw and Co-Head A&R Walter Jones. Whatever it is, we'll take a double.
Meanwhile, Gerson remained a leading voice in the cultural conversation (notably with celebrated nonprofit She Is the Music), continued cultivating a strong film, TV and game presence and made major strides in the growing Latin and Asian sectors. New initiatives like the Nightshift A&R series highlight a relentless global focus, from London to Lagos. The pubco reports that since Jody made her historic ascent to Chairman/CEO in 2015, income has grown by 40%.
