UMG and WTSL Partner To Create Commercial Opportunities For Artist-Led IP

Universal Music Group (UMG) has announced a joint venture with Silver Lake-backed investment firm WTSL, led by former WME Executive Chairman Patrick Whitesell. The partnership will look to unlock opportunities for UMG artists’ music across film, television, consumer products, branded experiences and other Intellectual Property ventures.

The vision:

• As per its press release, UMG cites the joint venture as accelerating opportunities for its artists and artist estates in areas outside traditional recorded music and music publishing.

• Its vision is to “provide an infrastructure to build long-term enterprises, expanding from one-off licensing into owned, repeatable, and equity-driven ventures rooted in creative identity.”

• No financial details of the partnership have been revealed.

What they said:

• Patrick Whitesell: “This is about building the future of artist IP with the scale and ambition it deserves. Universal Music Group represents the most powerful collection of music and artists anywhere in the world. Together, we’ll explore new ways to extend that cultural force into every dimension of entertainment and consumer life – creating lasting business value while keeping music at the center.”

• Sir Lucian Grainge, Chairman and CEO of UMG: “We exist at the center of a vibrant ecosystem of partners from the worlds of technology, brands, retailers and media who recognize the power of our artists to shape culture globally. With this new venture we will be able to leverage Patrick’s deep experience in successfully creating non-traditional business models with world-class IP to accelerate the expansion and monetization of our ecosystem to the benefit of our artists and partners.”