Universal Music Group and its corporate parent, Vivendi, are now publicly denying rumors that Universal CEO Lucian Grainge’s job is in danger.  In a statement issued this morning, Vivendi noted that Grainge would be staying with the company until ‘at least 2020′ and will help to lead a broader expansion towards content monetization.

“Lucian Grainge, the CEO of Universal Music Group, was extended in his position until 2020,” the statement reads (in French), without offering any further detail.  “UMG will accelerate the monetization of music in digital.”

It’s unclear if contracts have actually been signed, or whether the statement was merely issue to calm questions among partners and internal staff.  The response comes just weeks after an exclusive report in Digital Music News pointing to extreme instability at the top of Universal Music Group, and the very serious possibility of Grainge’s dismissal within months.  The move would closely follow the ouster of UMG digital chief Rob Wells, who was dismissed over concerns over unchecked free access and overly-cozy ties with Spotify.

The DMN report quickly garnered tens of thousands of views within the first three days, and according to our same sources, stirred considerable discussion within the upper ranks of both UMG and Vivendi.  That may have also included considerable response by the embattled Grainge himself, who has been lobbying intensely to convince upper-level executives that massive music devaluation is a problem that can be solved.  “The question to be posed is this,” one source close to the organization told Digital Music News.  “The value of music keeps crashing, [the devaluation] is not reversing at all and you have tech companies giving the middle finger.

“But Grainge is saying ‘don’t fire the general in the middle of the war’.  He’s making that case, apparently with success.”

But the devaluation problem only seems to be intensifying, with tech ‘partners’ increasingly dictating licensing terms back to massive media companies like UMG, not the other way around.  That has certainly been the case with Spotify, whose CEO, Daniel Ek, has flatly refused to close an unlimited free-access window, while spending millions to draw government attention towards coordinated efforts between Apple and major recording labels to force Spotify into stricter pay-only structures.

Separately, YouTube remains a giant free-access cesspool for UMG, with a subscription-based solution, Music Key, now a floating mirage without a release date and a nonchalant attitude among top YouTube execs.  Meanwhile, Universal and Sony Music Entertainment are exerting heavy pressure on SoundCloud to properly license their content, or face massive lawsuits.

And what about Apple Music?  So far, traction seems disappointingly low after the first month, though Apple is sticking with a far small, three-month trial window.

More as it develops.

 

The post Universal Music Responds: “We’re Not Firing Our CEO” appeared first on Digital Music News.