INTERVIEW

The music man

Lucian Grainge CBE, head of Universal Music, says he is determined to ensure UK artists stay at the top of the global entertainment industry. The Business Ambassador reveals how to Lawrie Holmes

he most powerful person in the global music industry is committed to ensuring British music maintains its international dominance. Lucian Grainge CBE, chairman and chief executive of Universal Music Group who topped industry bible Billboard’s recent power list, says he will use his role as a UK Trade & Investment appointed Business Ambassador to promote British music. In doing so, he will tap into a UK industry that he says has always outpunched its weight. “After all, we’re the country that brought the world the Rolling Stones, punk and Amy Winehouse,” he says to acknowledge that point.

T Grainge, made an Ambassador last

year, says there is a better chance than ever of the UK music industry continuing to stay on top. One catalyst could be the acquisition of former UK music giant EMI by Universal.

In a complex process that saw regulators on both sides of the Atlantic address competition issues, two-thirds of the business stayed with Universal after the Parlophone label was sold to Warner Music in March. The result is a powerhouse combining various labels under the Virgin EMI banner at Universal, itself controlled by French media giant Vivendi.

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Grainge says millions of pounds will be invested by Virgin EMI signing unknown acts. “We are committed to investing in the Virgin brand as can be seen with the announcement we are going to be folding the Mercury brand (another famous marque in the stable) into Virgin,” he states. “You will see the Mercury and Universal deep back catalogues come together along with newer acts such as Jake Bugg and Emeli Sandé. I’m excited about its prospects.” Separately, a Capitol Records UK label is to be launched shortly. “We’re going to launch the Capitol label as a separate A&R structure that will partner up with Capitol in the US,” explains Grainge. “The outcome will be a machine for developing talent that can only be positive for the UK end of the market, as this entity will also be focused on new talent. I’ve always wanted to create more opportunities and have more homes for artists.” The groundbreaking moves reflect Grainge’s continued determination to break new artists as he has ascended the peak of one of the most competitive industries on the planet. The 53-year- old from north London has come a long way since he began work as a teenage talent spotter at CBS Records, where he signed his first act, post-punk band, the Psychedelic Furs.

Using industry magazines to spot new bands, he built a career via rivals RCA and then MCA before rocking up at Universal in 1986 to launch PolyGram Music Publishing UK. Grainge was named head of Universal’s UK business in 2001, before running the group’s recorded music business outside North America four years later. Three years ago, he moved to Los Angeles when he was made head of the whole operation.

YOUTUBE GENERATION A tremendous amount has happened in music since Grainge’s arrival on the scene 30 years ago, most notably the halving of global revenues following the impact of file-sharing service Napster in the early 1990s. Nevertheless, he remains ebullient about the prospects for artists working in the “YouTube generation”, as he calls it. “When I started 30 years ago, there was a fertile, creative scene for independent labels and major companies,” he recalls. “How we find new artists and break them is entirely different now.” Grainge believes that the current

environment offers plenty of scope for monetisation through new rights, new distribution, new content and new ways of finding it. “It may now appear a more complex landscape,” he says, “but there are certainly more opportunities,