Universal Production Music and FirstCom Music merge to form a leader in production music

By Emmanuel legrand

Universal Music Publishing Group's Universal Production Music has merged into one single entity two of its US production music companies, Dallas-based FirstCom Music and Santa Monica-based Universal Production Music. The merged unit will operate under the brand name Universal Production Music.

  "The complete music catalogues of both companies have been combined and are now available through a single, integrated website," wrote Michael Sammis, president of Universal Production Music, in a blogpost. "For current and prospective customers, the marriage of these two production music powerhouses means streamlined service, expanded support, improved technology, and, most importantly, access to significantly more incredible music."

  Noah Rubinstein, VP of sales & marketing, and Carl Peel, VP of repertoire, will co-lead Universal Production Music in the United States. Rubinstein reports to Senior Vice President & General Manager George Macias; Peel reports to Senior Vice President of Global Repertoire Ken Nelson. Macias and Nelson report to Sammis.

Delivering superior music

  Said Sammis in a statement: “The marriage of these two US-based production music superstars highlights Universal Production Music’s place as the industry’s finest, truly global brand. Our newly combined US team will partner with colleagues around the world to pursue new talent, develop innovative services, and use trend insights to benefit our customers’ projects. Together, they will continue to drive innovation while delivering superior music and services to our client base."

  FirstCom has a catalogue of over 275,000 tracks. The company was initially founded in 1980 by Jim Long, and was later acquired by the Zomba Group, which in turn became owned by BMG Music Publishing in 2002. FirstCom continued as a stand-alone unit after BMG Music Publishing was acquired by UMPG in 2007.

  “Combining our efforts offers clients a more expansive pool of artists, composers and producers to meet their real-time demands for compelling, new music,” said Peel. “This also creates more opportunities for our artist producers, as well as greater exposure for their music and access to more channels and client projects.”

Bringing together the best of both worlds

  “Current customers will continue to be supported by the same dedicated and knowledgeable account managers and search specialists whom they’ve trusted for years,” said Rubinstein. “We’ve brought the best of both worlds together and we’re now uniquely positioned to serve clients and prospective clients in every key  vertical."

  Universal Production Music's repertoire available for licensing includes the catalogues from Abbey Road Masters, Capitol Studio Masters, Atmosphere Music, ICON Trailer Music, In Reality, Sonic Beat Records, True Stories, Velocity, Vitamin A, Audio Wax, Aurora, Chappell, Chronic Trax, EVO, Freshworx, Front Runners, Gotham, A Remarkable Idea, Network Music, New York Beats, Nova, OneMusic, Pedigree Cuts, among others.