Universal music launches value campaign, reduces download prices on 1,500 albums

London, October 30, 2006

Universal Music, the world's leading music company, is launching an aggressive European strategy to reduce permanently the digital download prices of 1,500 back catalogue albums. Beginning on November 1, the campaign will offer consumers the best online value for some of music's most popular, influential artists.

At the centre of this digital download value drive - a music industry first in terms of scale - are albums by artists ranging from Buddy Holly (The Chirping Crickets), Dusty Springfield (Dusty In Memphis) and the Who (The Who Sell Out, Quadrophenia,) to Bob Marley and the Wailers (Natty Dread, Rastaman Vibration), R.E.M. (Reckoning) and the Cure (17 Seconds).

Universal Music Group International will drive the campaign across Europe through a reduction in the trade price of the 1,500 albums. This will enable online music services to lower the retail prices to their customers. The campaign, open to all Universal Music's digital business partners, will roll out during the next 12 months.

Albums by ABBA, the Allman Brothers, Mary J. Blige, Bon Jovi, Eric Clapton, Counting Crows, Sheryl Crow, Free, Nelly Furtado, Jimi Hendrix, Kiss, the Moody Blues, Nine Inch Nails, Sonic Youth, Rod Stewart, Supertramp, Traffic, T-Rex, Thin Lizzy and Stevie Wonder are also central to the value campaign.

"As the leading online record company, we are totally committed to expanding and developing the digital music market," said Max Hole, Executive Vice President, Marketing & A&R, at Universal Music Group International. The promise of the Internet has always been about making it easier for people to access music in new ways and at affordable prices, and that's what we are aiming to achieve."

The exact campaign rollout by country is determined by the individual online music services, in conjunction with their own marketing, branding and promotion strategies.

For further information, contact:
Adam White
Universal Music Group International
+44 (020) 7747 4217 (office)
+44 (0) 7808 924 030 (mobile)
adam.white@umusic.com

About Universal Music Group

Universal Music Group is the world's largest music company with wholly owned record operations or licensees in 75 countries. Its businesses also include Universal Music Publishing Group, one of the industry's largest global music publishing operations.

Universal Music Group consists of record labels Decca Music Group, Deutsche Grammophon, Interscope Geffen A&M Records, Geffen Records, Island Def Jam Music Group, Lost Highway Records, Machete Music, MCA Nashville, Mercury Nashville, Mercury Records, Philips, Polydor Records, Universal Music Latino, Universal Motown Records Group, and Verve Music Group as well as a multitude of record labels owned or distributed by its record company subsidiaries around the world. The Universal Music Group owns the most extensive catalog of music in the industry, which is marketed through two distinct divisions, Universal Music Enterprises (in the U.S.) and Universal Strategic Marketing (outside the U.S.). Universal Music Group also includes eLabs, a new media and technologies division, and Universal Music Mobile.

Universal Music Group is a unit of Vivendi, a global media and communications company.