Annual report 2014

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2
Societal Indicators
Societal, Social and Environmental Information
In September 2014, at the Gramophone Awards (the equivalent of the
Academy Awards for classical music), UMG again stood out: the Decca
and Deutsche Grammophon labels won four prestigious awards, including
Artist of the Year, which went to Greek violinist Leonidas Kavakos.
In 2014, UMG also boasted a number of successes in China and
Southeast Asia. The EMI label signed the mandopop superstar A-Mei,
a genuine icon of the Chinese musical scene, and Show Lo and Rainie
Yang, two other key artists in the region.
Universal Music France has numerous African artists signed to labels and
in its catalog, such as Ayo (Nigeria), Benjamin Clementine (Ghana) and
Tiken Jah Fakoly (Ivory Coast). In 2014, it launched the first pan-African
musical talent contest “Island Africa Talent,” co-produced with Canal+
and aired on the new A+ channel. A tour with the four finalists will also
be organized in French-speaking Africa. In order to strengthen its local
presence, Universal Music France launched the Island Africa label of
the same name: Baloji, a rapper of Congolese origin, was the first artist
signed.
p p Showcasing musical heritage
Showcasing musical heritage is a priority for UMG’s business. Therefore,
the group is developing platforms and applications in order to exploit its
exceptional artists and catalog, while continuing with its investments.
Actions taken by UMG in favor of promoting musical heritage
(youth talent, local talent, digitization of heritage works)
GRI UNGC OECD Scope covered
MSS M3 1, 2 II, IV UMG (9 focus group countries)
In 2014, UMG introduced uDiscover, a free-to-consumer global platform
offering new ways to explore the catalog and to discover Universal Music
artists. With more than 600,000 unique visitors per month, uDiscover is
a new platform for discovering legendary UMG artists, thus helping to
diversify the musical culture of listeners.
In the United States, to celebrate the 75 th anniversary of the Blue Note
label, UMG introduced a Blue Note 75 application devoted to the iconic
jazz label. The application, which is available on iTunes, Spotify, Deezer
and Rdio, encourages listeners to rediscover the vast Blue Note catalog,
including an interactive timeline of cover art flow that traces the evolution
of the label from early jazz into today’s modern explorations.
In November 2014, UMG’s Decca Records, Deutsche Grammophon
and Mercury Classics joined forces with Global Radio’s Classic FM to
launch the application Composed in the United Kingdom. Composed is
a streaming service offering classical music lovers a chance to find their
listening choices from among the vast repertoire of the finest recordings
ever made by the labels. Furthermore, UMG launched Sinfini Music
in Australia in 2014, after first launching it in the United Kingdom in
2013. Sinfini Music is a site that brings classical music to a broad and
diverse audience. It was enormously successful (100,000 unique visitors
per month) due to a rich offering of music and published content (local
composers and artists, events and participation in educational projects in
partnership with music schools). The development of a dedicated mobile
application and a web-TV also facilitate access to the classical repertoire.
■ ■ 2.2.1.2. Empowering and Protecting Young People
in their Use of Digital Media
In a digital environment that is dramatically changing cultural practices
and the way in which the media is used, Vivendi has a major role to play
in assisting young people in their quest for self-fulfillment, in expressing
their creativity and in accessing knowledge. This is why, since 2003,
Vivendi has defined the empowerment and protection of young people as
a strategic “core” issue of its CSR policy (see Section 1.1.1 p.42). Since
2010, this objective has been part of the CSR criteria taken into account
in the variable compensation of the group’s senior executives.
2.2.1.2.1. Empowering Young Audiences
Initiatives aimed at enabling young people to exercise
their creativity and their status as citizens
GRI UNGC OECD Scope covered
MSS M7 1, 2 II, IV
Corporate
Canal+ Group
UMG (9 focus group countries)
GVT
Vivendi has entered into a partnership with the European Youth
Parliament (EYP). 150 young people met on the occasion of the Caen
International Forum, which was held from May 29 to June 8, 2014, to
celebrate the seventieth anniversary of the Normandy Landing. Following
the example of members of the EU Parliament, in two interactive
workshops sponsored by Vivendi, they debated the following topics:
“the role of culture in sustainable development” and “protecting privacy
in the digital world.” Their resolutions were submitted to the heads of
state attending the official ceremonies. The site Culture(s) with Vivendi
published a summary of these exchanges and continues to provide a
regular platform for these young Europeans.
On November 20, 2014, for the third consecutive year, Vivendi was a
partner in France’s National Youth Day. Vivendi invited three classes to
learn about career paths in the cultural industries and media sectors. The
event was attended by executives from Universal Music France, Canal+
and Studiocanal. Almost one hundred young people had a chance to look
more closely at a professional milieu that was previously unknown to
them.
In 2014, Vivendi also embarked on the topic of empowering young
audiences on its CSR web radio platform Vivoice in a special broadcast
devoted to the topic on February 11, for Safer Internet Day. The discussion
focused on three topics: “A Safer Internet”, “A Digital World respecting
the Rights of Children” and “A Creative Internet: a Lever of Expression
and Employability for Young People.” The French Children’s Advocate and
representatives from associations (Transapi, Simplon.co, ),
UNICEF and the French General Commission for Strategy and Outlook
participated in these discussions.
In 2014, Canal+ celebrated its thirtieth anniversary, an appropriate
occasion for recognizing creativity on the web, with the operation
“30 seconds for 30 years”. This contest, organized by Canalfactory, the
Canal+ label for new talent on the web, invited web users to create
30-second videos for the channel’s thirtieth anniversary. The winning
video was aired on November 10 during the show L’Œil de Links.
In addition, Canal+ Group has launched a structure called CanalStart that
is designed to support initiatives and projects by young entrepreneurs
in the world of media and new technologies to assist them in their
development. A total of 150 projects were reviewed, 30 start-ups were
identified and four initial partnerships entered into.
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Annual Report 2014