Jay-Z

Universal Music Group is a multinational music company. It the largest of the "big four" record companies by its leading market share and its multitude of global operations. Universal Music Group is a wholly owned subsidiary of French media conglomerate Vivendi. Universal Music Group owns a music... publisher, Universal Music Publishing Group, which became the world's largest following the 2007 acquisition of BMG Music Publishing. The UMG corporate headquarters are located in Santa Monica, California, United States. "Universal Music" was once the music company attached to film studio Universal Pictures. Its origins go back to the formation of the American branch of Decca Records in 1934. The Decca Corporation of England spun American Decca off in 1939. MCA Inc. bought American Decca in 1962. The present organization was formed when its parent company Seagram purchased PolyGram and merged it with Universal Music Group in 1998. However, the name first appeared in 1996 when MCA Music Entertainment Group was renamed Universal Music Group.
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The Island Def Jam Music Group is an umbrella label formed in 1999 when Universal Music Group merged two of its daughter companies, Island Records and Def Jam Recordings, to create a label group. In 2011, Motown Records was split from the Universal Motown Republic Group and subsequently merged into... the The Island Def Jam Music Group. Barry Weiss serves as Chairman & CEO of the company. The Island Def Jam Music Group was formed in 1999 when Universal Music Group merged two of its daughter companies, Island Records and Def Jam Recordings, as a result of the merger between Universal Music and PolyGram labels. Also incorporated into the venture was the staff, roster, and back catalog of Mercury Records, which was dismantled for several years until it was revived as a new venture in 2007. Meanwhile, the labels Island Records and Def Jam Recordings continue to operate as their own respective labels as a part of the Island Def Jam Music Group umbrella . The company is also affiliated with Lost Highway Records.
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Def Jam Recordings is an American hip-hop record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operates as a part of The Island Def Jam Music Group. In the UK, the label takes on the name Def Jam UK and is operated through Mercury Music Group, while in Japan, it is Def Jam Japan operating through Universal Sigma Music.