Report: Universal Music acts triggered 1 trillion streams in 12 months

The streaming phenomenon of Universal Music acts like Drake and Taylor Swift is the reason why the major label has such a high value.

Last month Deutsche Bank put the value of the record company at US$33.3 billion.

They forecast that the present rate of growth streaming revenue could hit $21 billion in four years.

This week, it was reported that Morgan Stanley put its worth at $29 billion at a “base valuation” but could go up to a mind-numbing $42 billion if 700 million consumers began paying for subscriptions in the next ten years.

These kinds of valuations, of course, increase the buying price for Universal Music which parent Vivendi is hoping to sell 50% by year's end.

Obviously, streaming is very important for Universal.

Which is why at Universal’s Grammy showcase in Los Angeles, Music Business Worldwide reported, its chairman and CEO Sir Lucan Grainge told invited guests that collectively, his company’s artists have generated 1 trillion streams since January 1, 2018.

UMG is releasing its full calendar 2018 financials later this week.

But Grainge dropped a hint that 2018 represented “the best year for any music company ever.”

In the first nine months of 2018, UMG broke its own recorded music revenue of all time, up 10.2% to $3.93 billion.