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Group Profile |
Businesses
| Litigation | Risk Factors
Vivendi Village
2.2.8.
Competition
The profitability of a recorded music business depends on its ability to attract,
develop and promote recording artists, the public acceptance of those artists,
and the success of recordings released within a particular period.
UMG competes with other major record companies for creative talent
and both new artists and those artists who have already established
themselves with another label. UMG also faces competition from
independent labels that are frequently distributed by other major record
companies.
The music industry competes for consumer discretionary spending with
other entertainment products such as video games and films. In recent
years, UMG has been facing greater competition for shelf-space, due to
declining CD sales and continued consolidation of the retail sector in the
United States and Europe.
Finally, the recorded music business continues to be adversely affected by
piracy, in particular illegal downloading and streaming from the Internet
(see Section 2.2.7 “Piracy” above).
2.2.9.
Research and Development
As the industry continues to evolve, UMG works to maximize
opportunities for digital distribution by partnering with both established
and emerging digital businesses. UMG also actively works to protect its
copyrights and those of its artists against unauthorized digital or physical
distribution. In addition, the company continues to pursue new ways to
capitalize on the digital transition in the industry, including utilizing data
that was previously unavailable in the physical business. For example,
UMG developed Artist Portal, a database allowing for robust, real-time
analysis of artist sales, streaming, social media traction and airplay,
among other metrics.
2.3. Vivendi Village
2.3.1.
Vivendi Ticketing
Vivendi Ticketing comprises the activities of See Tickets in the United
Kingdom and the United States and Digitick in France.
See Tickets is one of the leaders in the UK ticket market. The company
has a large portfolio of clients that specialize in the organization of
concerts, festivals, theater and live performances.
See Tickets broke a sales record for the 2015 edition of the Glastonbury
Festival, selling 150,000 tickets in 25 minutes. More than 2,000 British
clients gave See Tickets the task of selling their tickets during the year,
which proved to be an exceptional year once again.
In France, Digitick offers its services to theater operators and event
organizers who wish to market tickets to the general public. It also
develops and licenses software solutions. With the Eiffel Tower and the
Château de Versailles as clients, it has positioned itself as a recognized
leader in the French market where it continues to win market share.
Digitick operates the Infoconcert website, the leader in event information
in France, which describes shows and allows users to purchase tickets.
It has also developed ZePass.com, a legal ticket exchange platform for
private individuals.
In 2014, Vivendi Ticketing strengthened its cooperation with Universal
Music Group and sold hundreds of thousands of tickets in the United
Kingdom, North America and Europe for the group. See Tickets will
continue to rely on this relationship in 2015.
A subsidiary was opened in Los Angeles in December in order to expand
on the American market and seize the many opportunities available in
North America.
The 2014 results are attributable to rational investments made in
technologies, the exceptional performance of the employees, and
the company’s determination to focus on the needs of its clients and
consumers.
Vivendi Village is composed of Vivendi Ticketing (Digitick and See
Tickets), Wengo, Watchever, and The Olympia (included within Vivendi
Village since February 2015). A spirit of entrepreneurship is the hallmark
of these different entities. Responsive and nimble, they rapidly set up
and develop innovative projects, particularly in the digital segment.
By bringing these entities together under one umbrella, Vivendi gives
them the opportunity to accelerate their development.
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Annual Report 2014