Shock as global music mogul tests positive for COVID-19 - Billboard writes letter to members
Published:Friday | March 20, 2020 | 12:09 AMYasmine Peru/Senior Gleaner Writer
In 2019, chairman and CEO of Universal Music Group (UMG) Lucian Grainge was ranked No. 1 on the Billboard Power 100 chart, and the magazine, long regarded as the ‘bible’ in the entertainment industry, also selected Grainge as its ‘Billboard Executive of the Decade’. News that the music mogul – who is described by Billboard editorial director Hannah Karp as the most influential leader of today’s recorded-music business – has reportedly been hospitalised after testing positive for the coronavirus, COVID-19, has sent shock waves through the industry globally.
Karp, in a personal letter to Billboard members on Monday, noted that “our thoughts are with him, his family and his UMG colleagues this week, as they are with countless musicians and the touring professionals who are facing the dire prospect of a month or more without income as concerts grind to a halt across the globe”.
According to ‘financial bible’ Forbes, in an article headlined ‘Universal CEO Lucian Grainge’s Coronavirus Diagnosis Shakes Suddenly Imperilled Music Business’, “ News of Grainge’s diagnosis has put a human face to the peril in which the music business suddenly finds itself, in terms of both immediate personal safety and macro trends.”
60TH BIRTHDAY
Interestingly, Forbes also notes that Grainge, who, according to the Billboard article, was undergoing treatment at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, reportedly celebrated his 60th birthday in late February at a Palm Springs bash with huge names in the industry present. Grainge, his Wikipedia bio states, was born on February 29, 1960.
Universal is not just another music company. Its roster boasts some of the biggest names in music, and its unprecedented success in 2019 is strikingly significant. Beating its chest as “the world leader in music-based entertainment”, information on their website states that UMG had more artistes in the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry’s (IFPI) top 10 global artistes of the year in 2019 than any record company since the IFPI started tracking these figures in 2013. On March 2, IFPI, the global organisation that represents the recorded-music industry, published its annual Top 10 Global Recording Artistes for 2019 and eight of the 10 were UMG artistes.
Republic Records/UMG artiste Taylor Swift headed the list and was named the Global Artiste of the Year for 2019. The other seven UMG artistes who dominated the top 10 are Post Malone, Billie Eilish, Queen, Ariana Grande, Drake, Lady Gaga, and The Beatles. The IFPI Global Recording Artiste of the Year Award and top 10 chart is embraced by industry leaders as the only ranking to accurately measure consumption across all formats (including streaming channels, digital and physical album and singles sales) and all countries.
Also, in 2019, for the first time in more than a decade, UMG led all of the world’s top five music markets, namely, the United States, Japan, UK, Germany and France.
Billboard, in the letter, acknowledged that the live music industry is “grappling with unprecedented uncertainty right now,” and pledged their commitment “to providing the news, information and insight to help it come through this pandemic and emerge healthy”.
The magazine promised to put out a special COVID-19 feature which will examine the effects on every part of the music world, highlighting both the challenges and opportunities these unsettling, new global conditions present.
“To that end, please send us your stories, your coping strategies, your inventive new business ideas, and your calls to action – we want to share your wisdom with our community at a time when we’ve never needed each other more. For all of its power struggles, the music business is a remarkably interconnected and resilient family that not only comes together to weather its own crises, but also reaches out to help the larger world. We’re honoured to serve you through these trying times, and we thank you for your support,” Karp’s letter concluded.