Universal Music Group

aid: universal-music-group
name: Universal Music Group
type: Index
specificationVersion: '0.19'
description: >-
  Universal Music Group N.V. (UMG) is the world's largest music company,
  headquartered in Hilversum, Netherlands with operational headquarters in
  Santa Monica, California. Spun off from Vivendi and listed on Euronext
  Amsterdam (ticker: UMG) on September 21, 2021 at a EUR 54 billion valuation,
  UMG operates Recorded Music, Music Publishing (Universal Music Publishing
  Group / UMPG), and Merchandising (Bravado), plus film and television
  production (PolyGram Entertainment) and the artist services and catalog
  arm Universal Music Enterprises. The company is led by Chairman and CEO
  Sir Lucian Grainge. Major label families include Republic Corps (Republic,
  Island, Def Jam), Interscope Capitol Labels Group (Interscope, Geffen, A&M,
  Capitol, Blue Note, Motown), Virgin Music Group, Verve Label Group (Verve,
  Decca, Deutsche Grammophon, Impulse!, Philips), UMG Nashville (MCA Nashville,
  Mercury Nashville, EMI Records Nashville, Capitol Records Nashville),
  Universal Music Latin Entertainment, and Universal Music UK. Catalog scale
  exceeds 3 million recordings and 4 million compositions. Ownership is split
  among Bolloré / Vivendi (~28%), Tencent Music (~11%), Pershing Square (~10%),
  and the public float. UMG operates no public developer portal: catalog and
  metadata reach developers only indirectly through downstream DSPs (Spotify,
  Apple Music, YouTube, Amazon Music) and through partner / aggregator
  programs (7digital exposed UMG catalog under a partner API; that integration
  is the only third-party developer-facing surface that has ever been openly
  documented). Royalty and publishing portals (UMG Royalty Portal, UMPG Window)
  exist for songwriters and rights holders behind authentication, not as APIs.
  AI is the active integration vector in 2025-2026: UMG has announced licensed
  generative-music partnerships with Udio, Splice, KLAY Vision, SoundLabs,
  ProRata, BandLab, YouTube, TikTok, Meta, and KDDI, and has filed 15+ AI
  patents with Liquidax Capital across collaboration, rights management, music
  & health, and AI threat protection. These integrations operate through
  bilateral commercial agreements, not a self-serve developer program. The
  official Universal-Music-Group GitHub organization (created May 15, 2024)
  has 0 public repositories.
url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/universal-music-group/refs/heads/main/apis.yml
humanURL: https://www.universalmusic.com
image: https://kinlane-productions.s3.amazonaws.com/apis-json/apis-json-logo.jpg
tags:
  - AI Licensing
  - Big Three
  - Catalog
  - Entertainment
  - Generative Music
  - Licensing
  - Major Label
  - Merchandising
  - Music
  - Music Publishing
  - Recorded Music
  - Royalties
  - Streaming

apis:
  - aid: universal-music-group:umg-corporate
    name: UMG Corporate Web Surface
    description: >-
      The universalmusic.com corporate site is the public-facing surface for
      Universal Music Group. It catalogs UMG's labels, divisions, news,
      sustainability, careers, and investor relations content. The site is
      a marketing and brand surface; no JSON or REST endpoints, no developer
      documentation, and no API key issuance are exposed. The catalog of
      artists, releases, and recordings is not surfaced as a queryable API.
    humanURL: https://www.universalmusic.com
    baseURL: https://www.universalmusic.com
    tags:
      - Brand
      - Corporate
      - News
    properties:
      - type: Website
        url: https://www.universalmusic.com
      - type: AboutUs
        url: https://www.universalmusic.com/about/
      - type: News
        url: https://www.universalmusic.com/news/
      - type: Labels
        url: https://www.universalmusic.com/labels/

  - aid: universal-music-group:umg-royalty-portal
    name: UMG Royalty Portal
    description: >-
      Authenticated royalty statement portal for UMG-distributed artists and
      labels. Provides login-gated access to royalty statements, statement
      history, and supporting documentation. The portal is delivered as a
      web application; no public REST API, no OAuth program, and no
      machine-readable royalty feed are published. Access is provisioned
      through label and business-affairs channels rather than developer
      sign-up.
    humanURL: https://umgroyalty.com
    baseURL: https://umgroyalty.com
    tags:
      - Authenticated
      - Royalties
      - Statements
    properties:
      - type: Portal
        url: https://umgroyalty.com
      - type: Documentation
        url: https://umgroyalty.com/includes/UserGuide.pdf
      - type: Support
        url: https://support.umgroyalty.com/hc/en-us

  - aid: universal-music-group:umpg-window
    name: UMPG Window
    description: >-
      Universal Music Publishing Group's songwriter and client royalty portal,
      providing real-time access to earnings, statements, registrations, and
      catalog data for UMPG-signed songwriters and publisher administration
      clients. Authenticated, login-gated; no public API, OAuth surface, or
      developer documentation. The UMPG Window iOS and Android apps wrap the
      same authenticated surface.
    humanURL: https://umpgwindow.com
    baseURL: https://umpgwindow.com
    tags:
      - Authenticated
      - Compositions
      - Music Publishing
      - Royalties
      - Songwriters
    properties:
      - type: Portal
        url: https://umpgwindow.com
      - type: Website
        url: https://www.umusicpub.com

  - aid: universal-music-group:bravado-merch
    name: Bravado Merchandise Storefronts
    description: >-
      Bravado is UMG's global merchandise and brand-management division,
      operating direct-to-consumer artist merchandise storefronts and tour
      merchandise for UMG's roster. Each artist store is delivered via
      e-commerce platforms (typically Shopify) under artist-branded domains
      coordinated by Bravado. No Bravado-branded public developer API,
      catalog feed, or partner program is documented; integrations to retail
      and platform partners operate through bilateral commercial agreements.
    humanURL: https://www.bravado.com
    baseURL: https://www.bravado.com
    tags:
      - Brand Management
      - E-Commerce
      - Merchandise
      - Tour
    properties:
      - type: Website
        url: https://www.bravado.com

  - aid: universal-music-group:partner-dsp-feeds
    name: UMG Catalog Delivery to DSPs
    description: >-
      UMG's recorded-music catalog reaches developers and end users almost
      exclusively through downstream Digital Service Providers (Spotify,
      Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Tidal, Deezer, Pandora,
      etc.). UMG delivers audio, video, and metadata to those platforms
      through private ingest pipelines (industry-standard DDEX ERN / RIN /
      MEAD messaging delivered over SFTP or vendor-specific APIs). End
      developers query UMG-owned content through each DSP's own public API,
      not through any UMG-branded API surface. UMG itself publishes no
      DSP-style public catalog API.
    humanURL: https://www.universalmusic.com
    baseURL: https://www.universalmusic.com
    tags:
      - Catalog
      - DDEX
      - Distribution
      - DSP
      - Metadata
    properties:
      - type: ReferenceStandard
        url: https://ddex.net/
      - type: PartnerProgram
        url: https://www.universalmusic.com/contact/

  - aid: universal-music-group:partner-7digital
    name: 7digital UMG Catalog API (Partner Surface)
    description: >-
      7digital operates a B2B catalog and media-delivery API that includes
      UMG-licensed recordings for hackathon and partner use. This is the
      closest thing to a publicly documented developer surface for UMG
      catalog content, but the endpoint, authentication, and commercial
      terms are owned and operated by 7digital, not UMG. UMG itself
      neither documents nor distributes API keys for this surface.
    humanURL: https://7digital.gitbook.io/api-doc
    baseURL: https://api.7digital.com
    tags:
      - Aggregator
      - Catalog
      - Partner API
      - Recorded Music
    properties:
      - type: Documentation
        url: https://7digital.gitbook.io/api-doc
      - type: PartnerOf
        url: https://www.7digital.com

  - aid: universal-music-group:ai-licensing-program
    name: UMG AI Licensing Program
    description: >-
      UMG's "Artist Centric AI" framework governs licensed access to UMG's
      recordings and compositions by generative-AI music platforms. The
      program is operated as a series of bilateral commercial agreements,
      not as a self-serve developer program. As of 2025-2026, announced
      partners include Udio (licensed generative platform with catalog
      training and remixing rights), Splice (AI music tools for artists),
      SoundLabs, KLAY Vision, ProRata, BandLab Technologies (ethical AI
      framework), YouTube (AI Music Principles), TikTok, Meta, and KDDI.
      Liquidax Capital co-develops UMG's AI patent portfolio (15+ filings
      across musical collaboration, multimedia content, music & health,
      AI threat protection, and rights management). No public OpenAPI,
      no token issuance, no sandbox.
    humanURL: https://www.universalmusic.com
    baseURL: https://www.universalmusic.com
    tags:
      - AI
      - Generative Music
      - Licensing
      - Partnerships
      - Rights Management
    properties:
      - type: PartnerProgram
        url: https://www.universalmusic.com/contact/
      - type: PressRoom
        url: https://www.universalmusic.com/news/

  - aid: universal-music-group:github-org
    name: Universal-Music-Group GitHub Organization
    description: >-
      Official UMG GitHub organization (login Universal-Music-Group, org id
      169924279), created May 15, 2024. As of profiling, the org has 0
      public repositories, 0 public gists, 0 followers, no bio, no blog,
      no email, and no published members. The organization exists as a
      brand placeholder; UMG's engineering output is not published openly.
      An unrelated GitHub login `umg` (with 51 repos) is gated behind UMG
      single-sign-on and is also not an open developer surface.
    humanURL: https://github.com/Universal-Music-Group
    baseURL: https://api.github.com/users/Universal-Music-Group
    tags:
      - GitHub
      - Source Code
    properties:
      - type: GitHubOrganization
        url: https://github.com/Universal-Music-Group
      - type: ProfileAPI
        url: https://api.github.com/users/Universal-Music-Group

common:
  - type: Website
    url: https://www.universalmusic.com
  - type: AboutUs
    url: https://www.universalmusic.com/about/
  - type: News
    url: https://www.universalmusic.com/news/
  - type: Labels
    url: https://www.universalmusic.com/labels/
  - type: Careers
    url: https://www.universalmusic.com/careers/
  - type: ContactUs
    url: https://www.universalmusic.com/contact/
  - type: InvestorRelations
    url: https://www.universalmusic.com/investors/
  - type: TermsOfService
    url: https://www.universalmusic.com/terms/
  - type: PrivacyPolicy
    url: https://www.universalmusic.com/privacy-policy/
  - type: LinkedIn
    url: https://www.linkedin.com/company/universalmusicgroup
  - type: GitHubOrganization
    url: https://github.com/Universal-Music-Group
  - type: GitHubRepository
    url: https://github.com/api-evangelist/universal-music-group
  - type: Stock
    url: https://live.euronext.com/en/product/equities/NL0015000IY2-XAMS
  - type: ParentCompany
    name: Independent (Euronext Amsterdam, ticker UMG); spun off from Vivendi 21 September 2021
  - type: Subsidiary
    data:
      - name: Universal Music Publishing Group
        description: Global music publishing arm; songwriter signings, catalog administration, and sync licensing.
        url: https://www.umusicpub.com
      - name: Bravado
        description: Global merchandise and brand-management division for UMG's artist roster.
        url: https://www.bravado.com
      - name: PolyGram Entertainment
        description: Film, television, and documentary production division producing music-led content.
        url: https://www.universalmusic.com/labels/polygram-entertainment/
      - name: Universal Music Enterprises
        description: Catalog-marketing division managing reissues, compilations, and legacy artist releases.
      - name: Mercury Studios
        description: Music film, documentary, and video production label.
        url: https://www.mercurystudios.co
  - type: LabelFamily
    data:
      - name: Republic Corps
        description: Republic Records, Island Records, Def Jam Recordings.
      - name: Interscope Capitol Labels Group
        description: Interscope Geffen A&M, Capitol Records, Blue Note Records, Motown, Capitol Christian Music Group, Priority Records.
      - name: Virgin Music Group
        description: Virgin Records, mtheory, PIAS, Integral, Caroline, Fiction, Fontana; UMG's label-services / independent-distribution arm.
      - name: Verve Label Group
        description: Verve Records, Decca Records, Deutsche Grammophon, Impulse!, Philips, Brunswick, GRP, Verve Forecast.
      - name: UMG Nashville
        description: MCA Nashville, Mercury Nashville, EMI Records Nashville, Capitol Records Nashville.
      - name: Universal Music Latin Entertainment
        description: Universal Music Latino, Disa, Fonovisa, Machete Music.
      - name: Universal Music UK
        description: EMI Records UK, Polydor UK, Island UK, Decca UK, 0207 Def Jam, EMI North.
      - name: Abbey Road Studios
        description: Historic London recording studios owned by UMG.
  - type: Features
    data:
      - name: Recorded Music Catalog
        description: Over 3 million recordings spanning UMG's label families, distributed to DSPs via private DDEX-based ingest pipelines.
      - name: Music Publishing Catalog
        description: Over 4 million compositions administered by Universal Music Publishing Group across writer signings and acquired catalogs.
      - name: Merchandise (Bravado)
        description: Direct-to-consumer artist merchandise storefronts and tour merch operated by the Bravado division.
      - name: Film and Television
        description: Music-led films, documentaries, and series produced under PolyGram Entertainment and Mercury Studios.
      - name: Royalty Portals
        description: Authenticated royalty-statement portals (UMG Royalty Portal for recordings, UMPG Window for publishing) for artists, labels, and songwriters.
      - name: Licensed AI Partnerships
        description: Commercial AI-music licensing program covering Udio, Splice, SoundLabs, KLAY Vision, ProRata, BandLab, YouTube, TikTok, Meta, and KDDI.
      - name: AI Patent Portfolio
        description: 15+ AI patents filed with Liquidax Capital spanning collaboration, multimedia content, music & health, AI threat protection, and rights management.
  - type: UseCases
    data:
      - name: Streaming Catalog Access
        description: End-user and developer access to UMG's recorded-music catalog occurs through downstream DSPs (Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Tidal), each of which publishes its own developer API.
      - name: Sync Licensing
        description: Film, TV, advertising, and game producers license UMG recordings and UMPG compositions through bilateral business-affairs negotiation, not through a self-serve API.
      - name: Royalty Reporting
        description: Artists, labels, and songwriters access royalty statements through the authenticated UMG Royalty Portal and UMPG Window apps.
      - name: AI Training and Generation Licensing
        description: Licensed AI platforms (Udio, Splice, SoundLabs, etc.) access UMG content under bilateral commercial agreements that govern training, generation, and downstream remixing rights.
      - name: Merchandise Distribution
        description: Direct-to-consumer fan commerce operated by Bravado on behalf of UMG's artist roster.
  - type: Integrations
    data:
      - name: DDEX
        description: Industry-standard messaging suite (ERN for release notification, RIN for recording information, MEAD for media-enrichment, DSR for sales reporting) used by UMG to deliver content to DSPs.
        url: https://ddex.net/
      - name: Spotify
        description: Catalog delivered to Spotify via DDEX; developers query UMG catalog through Spotify Web API rather than any UMG-branded API.
      - name: Apple Music
        description: Catalog delivered to Apple Music; downstream developer access via Apple Music API.
      - name: YouTube / YouTube Music
        description: Catalog and AI Music Principles partnership covering UGC matching, music identification, and licensed AI-music experiments.
      - name: TikTok
        description: Licensed music partnership covering catalog availability and AI-related provisions.
      - name: Meta
        description: Licensed music agreements covering Facebook, Instagram, and emerging AI surfaces.
      - name: KDDI
        description: Japan telecom partner; AI-related licensed-music agreement.
      - name: Udio
        description: Licensed generative-AI music platform; UMG strategic partner under Artist Centric AI framework.
      - name: Splice
        description: AI music-tools partner for UMG-roster artist tooling.
      - name: SoundLabs
        description: Voice-model and AI-music partner.
      - name: KLAY Vision
        description: AI-music platform partner.
      - name: ProRata
        description: AI training / rights attribution partner.
      - name: BandLab Technologies
        description: Partner on ethical-AI framework for songwriters and artists (Oct 2023 agreement).
      - name: Liquidax Capital
        description: IP asset-management and advisory firm co-developing UMG's AI patent portfolio (15+ filings).
      - name: 7digital
        description: Partner aggregator that exposes UMG catalog under a B2B API used in hackathons and embedded media partners.
      - name: Drupal
        description: UMG runs Drupal-based corporate properties (organization listed at drupal.org/UMG).

absences:
  - name: No Public Developer Portal
    description: No developer.universalmusic.com, no api.universalmusic.com, no api keys, no OAuth program, no sandbox, no rate-limit documentation.
  - name: No Public OpenAPI / AsyncAPI
    description: UMG has never published an OpenAPI, AsyncAPI, JSON Schema, or Postman collection. Catalog and metadata exchange happens privately via DDEX over SFTP/vendor APIs.
  - name: No Public SDKs
    description: No first-party language SDKs in any package registry (npm, PyPI, Maven, NuGet, RubyGems, crates.io, Go modules).
  - name: Empty Official GitHub Organization
    description: github.com/Universal-Music-Group exists (created May 15 2024) with 0 public repositories, 0 gists, 0 followers, and no bio.
  - name: No Public Changelog / Status Page
    description: No api.umg.com/status, no public status.universalmusic.com, no machine-readable changelog.
  - name: No Public Pricing
    description: No published API pricing because no API exists. Licensing, royalty, and AI-partnership terms are negotiated privately under NDA.
  - name: No Public RSS / Atom
    description: Corporate news is published as HTML pages on universalmusic.com without a published RSS feed in standard well-known locations.
  - name: No Webhooks
    description: No publicly documented webhook program for any UMG surface (royalty events, release notifications, content drops).

maintainers:
  - FN: Kin Lane
    email: [email protected]

created: '2026-05-23'
modified: '2026-05-23'