New research reveals that Universal Music Group (UMG) has extended its dominance in the recorded music sector.

According to Informa Telecoms & Media publication Music & Copyright, the company was the leader in both the physical and digital music markets in 2006 and is now dominant in both recorded music and music publishing, the first time a company has been in that position.

UMG also came top in terms of the total revenues generated from the exploitation of recorded music copyrights.

As physical sales continue to fall, this last measure, which includes ancillary revenues and licensing and neighbouring rights revenues as well as transactional revenues, is likely to become the key performance indicator of a record company in the near future.

According to Phil Hardy, editor of Music & Copyright, record companies are already making more inclusive deals with artists that feature revenues from ancillary revenue streams, such as touring and merchandising as well as from recorded music sales.

“While UMG’s digital share was larger than its combined physical and digital market share, its total revenue share was even bigger at 27.5 per cent. This suggests that it is using its dominance in the physical and digital markets to generate higher revenues from synchronisation and direct licensing.”

Simon Dyson, principal music analyst at Informa Telecoms & Media, added: “EMI was the only major to suffer a fall in the combined physical/digital market share. It also had a lower total revenue market share than its physical/digital sales share.

“The main reason for this was its poor performance in the US.”

The Music & Copyright research concluded that as revenues from music copyrights are becoming increasingly interlinked and that UMG and its sister music publishing company UMPG are the market leaders of their respective sectors, the total revenue share of the “grand UMG” will in future be higher than the individual recorded music and publishing divisions.

The recorded music market shares in this release have been developed through an intensive examination of the statements of the major record companies, the views of analysts and Music & Copyright's confidential conversations with the majors.

Music & Copyright is published by Informa Telecoms & Media.

It is the only independent source in the world for recorded music and music publishing market shares.

Published fortnightly, it covers copyright and legal issues on a global scale, focusing on developments shaping the international music business.

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