BOCELLI'S SWEET DEAL WITH UMG

The crowd is all smiles as they await the jeroboam of 1996 Bruno Giacosa Barolo in the corner. From left, back row, standing: UMG Italy President Alessandro Massara; Almud Music CEO/Manager Veronica Berti Bocelli; Decca Co-Managing Director Tom Lewis; Island Records, UMG Italy, President Jacopo Pesce; and Manager Scott Rodger from Maverick. Seated are Maverick’s Francesco Pasquero; Decca Co-Managing Director Laura Monks; Andrea Bocelli; and UMG Global Classics & Jazz President and CEO Dickon Stainer.

Andrea Bocelli has expanded his global recording agreement with Universal Music Group, signing directly to UMG for the first time. UMG’s Decca Records Group has released his music for 25 years via its deal with Sugar Music.

The long-term multi-album deal will include a series of recorded-music and audiovisual projects, alongside branding services, synchronization and music-related merchandising. UMG will be working with Bocelli and his management teams at Almud (Veronica Berti Bocelli) and Maverick under Scott Rodger.

“For over two decades, I have had the privilege to work closely with Andrea,” said Sir Lucian Grainge, Chairman and CEO of Universal Music Group. “To expand and extend our long-term partnership with Andrea—an artist in the truest sense who is nothing less than a cultural icon—is a thrilling moment for me and for our teams around the world. We look forward to putting the global organization to work on Andrea’s behalf, ensuring that his new music and brilliant catalog are enjoyed by his millions of fans and discovered by millions more.”

Bocelli said, “Fully joining the artist stable of the largest record company in the world is the culmination of a dream, but it is also a bit like returning home, because in UMG I have always found that family dimension that is ideal, even in the artistic field, to give the best of oneself. This agreement represents a great honor for me, for Veronica, and perhaps even a little for all of Italy, which I will continue to celebrate with the world through my songs.”

Bocelli’s most recent studio album, 2020’s Believe, was accompanied by a major livestream, Believe in Christmas, which has become the most successful classical music livestream to date, selling more than 70k tickets to fans in 120 countries.