Universal Music Group is suspending all operations in Russia

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefSony Music Group (SMG) Wednesday announced the opening of its new headquarters for Southeast Asia, based in Singapore.The flagship office will be home to SMG companies including Sony Music Entertainment (SME), Sony Music Publishing (SMP) and artist and label services company The Orchard. It will also serve as the new base for Sony Interactive Entertainment, creators of PlayStation.An opening ceremony saw the attendance of Singapore’s Minister of State for the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Minister of Culture, Community and Youth, Alvin Tan, and Lim Tse Yong, VP of the Singapore Economic Development Board.

Prior to its deal with Irving Azoff’s Iconic Artists Group which was announced last week, the Nat King Cole estate sold a stack of the late musician’s recordings to Universal Music, it has now emerged.Cole had a career-long relationship with Capitol Records, which was acquired by Universal when it bought the EMI record company back in 2012. However, in the latter part of his career a by then famous Cole negotiated a deal with Capitol that allowed him to retain the rights in his later recordings, which he then licensed back to the label.According to Forbes, the estate sold those rights to Universal in a deal worth somewhere between $10 million and $20 million.

Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payments (PIP) are set to increase from next month.

Universal Studio Group has made permanent the interim roles held by Beatrice Springborn and David O’Donoghue, with Springborn becoming President of UCP and Universal International Studios and O’Donoghue taking on the Head of Universal International Studios post.

the band’s Twitter account states.The included works that are set to be leaving Russian and Belarusian streaming platforms are Pink Floyd studio albums “A Momentary Lapse of Reason” (1987), “The Division Bell” (1994) as well as 2014’s “The Endless River.” Gilmour has released four solo studio albums in his career, the most recent being “Rattle That Lock” in 2015. His entire solo discography is also being removed from streamers.Last week, Gilmour tweeted in support of Ukraine, writing, “Russian soldiers, stop killing your brothers.

Pink Floyd and David Gilmour are removing their music from streaming services in Russia and Belarus to show their support for Ukraine.Ukraine officially severed diplomatic ties with Russia and declared martial law after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an attack on the neighbouring nation on February 24. At the time of writing, the Russian invasion has killed at least 549 citizens, including 41 children.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorWarner Music Group has suspended all of its operations in Russia, the company has confirmed to Variety. “Warner Music Group is suspending operations in Russia, including investments in and development of projects, promotional and marketing activities, and manufacturing of all physical products,” according to a statement from the company. “We will continue to fulfill our agreed upon obligations to our people, artists, and songwriters as best we can as the situation unfolds.

Good Morning Britain (GMB) spoke to the deputy mayor of Mariupol, Sergei Orlov, on Thursday morning (March 10) following Russia's air strike on the Ukrainian city.

Universal Music Group has become one of the latest media companies to suspend operations in Russia amid the country’s invasion of Ukraine. The music publishing giant on Tuesday said it was closing its offices in Russia, effective immediately. Meanwhile, major Western food and beverage companies Coca-Cola, McDonald’s and Starbucks are also pulling out.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorUniversal Music Group has suspended all of its operations in Russia, the company has confirmed to Variety. “Effective immediately, we are suspending all operations in Russia and closing our offices there. We urge an end to the violence in Ukraine as soon as possible. We are adhering to international sanctions and, along with our employees and artists, have been working with groups from a range of countries (including the U.S., U.K., Poland, Slovakia, Germany, Czech Republic and Hungary) to support humanitarian relief efforts to bring urgent aid to refugees in the region.”A source tells Variety that the company’s staffers will continue to receive their salaries for an undetermined time, although artists will presumably see most if not all of their recording activity paused.  All three major labels — Universal, Sony and Warner — have local labels and operations in Russia; while reps for Sony and Warner did not immediately respond to requests for comment, sources both companies are likely to announce decisions about their status in the country within 24-48 hours.

Netflix has suspended its service in Russia entirely in protest of the country’s invasion of Ukraine.The streaming service joins a growing list of companies that have stopped serving Russia since the full-scale invasion began on February 24.Netflix had previously announced a hold on Russian projects and acquisitions and refused to carry 20 Russian propaganda channels that it was required to host under Russian law. Now, the service has been shut down entirely in the country.“Given the circumstances on the ground, we have decided to suspend our service in Russia,” a spokesperson told Variety of the move.The platform’s previous sanctions on the country had seen four Russian original works put on pause.

Streaming giant Netflix is suspending service in Russia, citing that country’s invasion of Ukraine. They join numerous entertainment companies and other businesses who have halted business there.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaNetflix has suspended its service in Russia to protest the country’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The streaming service previously announced this week that it would pause all future projects and acquisitions from Russia, joining a growing list of companies that have cut ties with the country. Netflix had four Russian originals in the works, including a crime thriller series directed by Dasha Zhuk, which was shooting and has been put on hold.

Nick Cave has responded to criticism over his views on Palestine after cancelling forthcoming gigs in Russia and Ukraine.Earlier this week (March 1), Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds announced that they had cancelled their scheduled concerts in Russia and Ukraine this summer due to Vladimir Putin’s invasion, saying: “Ukraine, we stand with you.”In a post on his Red Hand Files website, Cave responded to a fan criticising him for cancelling these gigs, but refusing to do so with shows in Israel back in 2017, when he went ahead with shows and told local press that doing so would be a defiant statement against anyone “who tries to censor and silence musicians”.“At the end of the day, there’s maybe two reason why I’m here. One is that I love Israel and I love Israeli people, and two is to make a principled stand against anyone who tries to censor and silence musicians,” Cave said at the time.

Iron Maiden have announced that their upcoming summer shows in Ukraine and Russia have been cancelled due to the ongoing conflict between the neighbouring countries.The band were set to perform at VDNG in Kyiv, Ukraine on May 29 before visiting VTB Arena in Moscow Russia on June 1 as part of their 2022 ‘Legacy Of The Beast’ world tour.Sharing a statement on social media, Iron Maiden said “the promoters have cancelled the two Iron Maiden shows” due to the “ongoing situation in Ukraine”.“We are very sorry to announce that due to the ongoing situation in Ukraine, the promoters have cancelled the two Iron Maiden shows scheduled for May 29th in Kyiv and June 1st in Moscow on the 2022 Legacy Of The Beast World Tour,” the band tweeted.The band added that ticket-holders would we informed by the respective promoters on refunds, and concluded by stating: “Our priority is, and will always be, the safety of our fans.”Ticket-holders for both shows will be informed by the respective promoters on refunds at the appropriate time. Our priority is, and will always be, the safety of our fans.— Iron Maiden (@IronMaiden) March 3, 2022Since the conflict started, the likes of Iggy Pop, Yungblud, Green Day, Franz Ferdinand and Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds are among the acts who have scrapped dates due to the ongoing crisis.It comes after Ukraine severed diplomatic ties with Russia and declared martial law after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an attack on the neighbouring nation last Thursday (February 24).Ukraine, which has a population of 44million people, borders both Russia and the European Union.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe world’s largest music company, Universal Music Group, posted a record $9.4 billion in revenue for 2021, the company announced in its earnings report on Thursday. That marks a 14.4% increase over 2020, although comparisons with the pandemic year are obviously skewed.Recorded music revenues were up 14.3% to around $7.52 billion, while streaming soared nearly 17% to just under $5 billion.

The Toronto Film Festival said Thursday that it will suspend participation by film organizations and media outlets supported by the Russian state for its next festival, in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Live Nation will no longer operate in Russia in protest at the eastern European country's invasion of Ukraine, it was announced on Wednesday “Live Nation joins the world in strongly condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. We will not promote shows in Russia, and we will not do business with Russia,” Live Nation said in a statement to Rolling Stone.

Nick Cave and Warren Ellis teamed up for a performance of ‘Ghosteen Speaks’ on The Late Late Show last night (March 2) – check it out below.The track was originally released as part of Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds’ 2019 album ‘Ghosteen’ and last night, Cave teamed up with Ellis for a soaring, slow-burning rendition of the track.The performance comes ahead of the release of the Andrew Dominik-directed documentary This Much I Know To Be True which will explore Cave and Ellis’ creative relationship and feature songs from their last two studio albums, ‘Ghosteen’ and last year’s ‘Carnage’.The film will be released in cinemas globally on May 11, with tickets going on sale on March 23 from here.Check out Nick Cave and Warren Ellis’ performance of ‘Ghosteen Speaks’ here.Last year, Cave shared the secrets of his friendship with long-time collaborator Warren Ellis in his latest entry for The Red Hand Files.After being asked by multiple fans about their friendship and songwriting, Cave shared his theory that there are three levels of friendship: essentially those defined by “a shared experience,” “someone who has your back,” and ones who can “bring the best out in you”.“None of these levels are mutually exclusive and sometimes you find someone who fulfils all of these categories. If you find a friend like that, hang on to him or her.