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Societal Indicators
Vivendi’s Four “Core” Issues Relating to Human Rights
◆
Showcasing musical heritage
Showcasing musical heritage is a priority for UMG’s global business.
Therefore, the group is developing platforms and applications in order to
create access to its exceptional artists and to its unrivalled catalog, while
continuing with investment in digitizing the unique music collection.
INITIATIVES TAKEN BY UMG IN FAVOR
OF PROMOTING MUSICAL HERITAGE
GRI
UNGC OECD Scope covered
DMA HR MSS Cultural
Rights aspect, MSS M3
1, 2
II, IV UMG
In 2015, UMG pursued its goal of digitizing its musical and audiovisual
catalog: a discography of 326 artists is now available in restored,
digitized version. More than 2,500 hours of video from the UMG archives
have been viewed and processed – most of it previously unreleased.
Among the restored legacy works re-released in 2015 is the Beatles
1
compilation deluxe edition on DVD and Blu-Ray. The new
1+
version
includes 23 additional clips, including alternative versions of the
27 original titles, for a total of 50 films. The album
Motown Unreleased
1965: Marvin Gaye
and the artist compilation
Motown Unreleased 1965
have also been re-released in digital format.
UMG launched uDiscover, a worldwide platform offering new ways to
explore the comprehensive catalog and discover Universal Music artists.
In 2015, a rich offering of playlists (uDiscover TV, uBYTES, uQuizzes) was
made available through the site and a mobile app. With more than a
million unique visitors every month, uDiscover aims to diversify its users’
musical culture and help them discover legendary UMG artists.
The digitization of content is the means by which to offer younger
audiences the opportunity to discover heritage works. Similarly, the
website Sinfini Music, available in the United Kingdom, Australia and
the Netherlands, intends to expand the audience for classical music. It
continues to gain followers (250,000 unique visitors a month in 2015,
compared to 100,000 in 2014). Its rich musical offerings include a
variety of editorial content (feature articles, short animation programs),
which facilitate access to the classical catalog. In 2015, the Deutsche
Grammophon label launched an iPad application based on Prokofiev’s
classical music masterpiece
Peter and the Wolf
. Intended for the
youngest audiences, the app guides them in discovering the Russian
composer’s work through an interactive experience extended by the
album
Peter and the Wolf in Hollywood
. Available in two languages, this
album revisits the original musical story, enriched with an added chapter
that takes place in modern-day Los Angeles, narrated by singers Alice
Cooper (in the English version) and Campino (in the German version).
4.1.1.3. Respect for Intellectual Property and Support
for Artists
INITIATIVES TAKEN AGAINST PIRACY
AND SUPPORT GIVEN TO PUBLIC
ADMINISTRATIONS’ ACTIONS FOR THE SUSTENANCE
OF ARTISTIC CREATION
GRI
UNGC OECD Scope covered
DMA HR MSS
Intellectual Property
aspect
1, 2
II, IV
UMG
Canal+ Group
Vivendi Village
Respect for intellectual property, on which the long-term financing of
artistic works depends, is a major issue for Vivendi and is included in
the group’s Data and Content Protection Charter. The subsidiaries ensure
respect for intellectual property rights while satisfying consumers seeking
new usages.
As part of its risk management policy, Canal+ Group is developing action
plans in the areas of innovation and technological monitoring in order
to combat audiovisual piracy. The group is developing tools to identify
illegal content in order to proceed to its immediate removal from the
main digital platforms (known as the fast-track approach). Canal+ Group
also uses fingerprint generation technologies to protect its content and
detect illegal copies. In this area, Canal+ and Studiocanal are involved in
a cross-company effort and are pooling their tools and resources. Canal+
Overseas uses fingerprint technology in Africa in particular, to identify
and punish the use of smartcards shared illegally by the administrators
of pirate cable networks.
Canal+ Afrique has intensified its actions to combat the piracy of its
content in its broadcast territories, where the phenomenon is especially
prevalent. Monitoring is one of the principal components of this fight
against piracy, and allows the company to identify content broadcast
without authorization, particularly major sports events, and to collect
data in order to calculate the losses. This monitoring is backed by
communication initiatives: for example, Canal+ Afrique launched an
anti-piracy campaign during the ANC 2015 (African Nations Cup) with
the broadcast of radio and TV spots (on a technical level, several pirate
servers were also dismantled during the event). Canal+ Afrique is also
initiating awareness campaigns. In Ivory Coast for example, in June 2015,
the group’s subsidiary participated in a panel to warn of the dangers of
“spider” connections during the International Conference on Originality
and Intellectual Property.
UMG acts on a number of fronts, often in co-operation with the rest
of the music industry and the entertainment industry, to battle piracy
and thereby protect the entire value chain. Industry level action is co-
ordinated by global and national industry associations (such as the IFPI
– the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry – and its
national group affiliates) with whom UMG works very closely. Raising
consumer awareness is a significant part of the effort against piracy,
including through vehicles such as the “Why Music Matters” campaign
which targets young people (see Section 4.1.2.2).
EXTRA-FINANCIAL INDICATORS HANDBOOK
2015
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