UMG STRIKES 10-YEAR PACT WITH HYBE

HYBE Chairman Bang-Si-Hyuk, UMG Chairman/CEO Sir Lucian Grainge and HYBE America CEO Scooter Braun

Sir Lucian Grainge's UMG has expanded its partnership with HYBE. As part of a new, 10-year deal, UMG will have exclusive distribution rights to all of HYBE's artists. The pact will also expand UMG's collaboration with HYBE's superfan platform, WeVerse.

Will HYBE have more flexibility in this expanded partnership? Or will Geffen continue to be its exclusive partner at UMG?

The HYBE arrangement—long rumored to have been negotiated by Allen Grubman—arrives after a major restructuring at UMG and on the heels of another heavyweight distro deal, just announced between Big Loud and Mercury/Republic.

What's the next big deal in the pipeline from Uni as it gets its game on to help unlock the stock that's been stuck in the mid-20s since the IPO launched?