Universal & Warner Music: New Artist Deals & Artist Development

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I'd love to hear your perspective on how you would describe the Latin music market compared to the US market.

The second difference lies in the direction of the market in terms of market players. The Latin market is aggressively moving away from traditional recording agreements, with several new market players emerging. To compete, we need to be creative in structuring deals. This transition is also happening in the US, but at a slower pace. The same applies to digitalization. A few years ago, the Latin market became almost entirely digital. The US market's transition to digital was slower, with physical formats still being prevalent. In the Latin market, physical formats account for maybe 1% or even less, while in the US, it's probably around 10% to 12%. These are the key differences between the two markets.

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Could you describe how the mix of deals signed with new artists has evolved over time?

I cannot provide exact figures as they are confidential, but there has been a significant change. We've had to adapt to market conditions and the increased leverage artists now have. In the Latin market, there has been a shift from artists signing with traditional music labels or majors to becoming independent. To achieve this, they either sign with a distribution company or a management company that handles their distribution. Due to their increased leverage, we've had to adapt and, in most cases, reduce our share.

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Looking ahead, say five or 10 years, given that artists are currently signing deals that grant fewer rights or monetization opportunities to labels, how will this impact the back catalog these labels will have in the future?

It will definitely have an impact. A company's value is made up of its catalog and new releases. The fewer artists we sign, the less catalog we will have. That's why companies are now including mergers and acquisitions in their strategies. We look at an artist's catalog to see if it's profitable. It's a way to adapt to new market conditions.

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