UMG Chairman/CEO Sir Lucian Grainge Honored As 'Music Person Of The Year 2017' At Cannes, France

Sir Lucian Grainge

The CANNES LIONS INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF CREATIVITY last night honored UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP Chairman/CEO SIR LUCIAN GRAINGE as Media Person of the Year 2017 at a ceremony at THE PALAIS DES FESTIVALS, CANNES.

In presenting the award, CANNES LIONS CEO PHILIP THOMAS said, "Every year the media person of the year accolade is given to an individual who has through their leadership and innovation shaped the future of media. This year we are honored to recognize as the CANNES LIONS Media Person of the year, UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP Chairman/CEO SIR LUCIAN GRAINGE. SIR LUCIAN is the first music executive to be honored since this award was first introduced in 1999, which says much about the convergence of entertainment with marketing and advertising. A champion of new business models and fresh approaches, SIR LUCIAN is widely credited for laying the foundation that has led to the music industry's recent return to growth after nearly a decade of decline. He's worked with global stars that include the likes of ELTON JOHN, JAY Z, AMY WINEHOUSE, ABBA, THE ROLLING STONES and QUEEN and during his tenure at UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP he's transformed the company into a world leader in music based entertainment. SIR LUCIAN has been described as the great hope for the music business, has been widely praised for his risk taking and innovation, forging partnerships with a wide range of technology and media platforms including APPLE, SPOTIFY and AMAZON. Please welcome to the stage SIR LUCIAN GRAINGE."

Accepting the award, SIR LUCIAN GRAINGE said, "Thank you very much for that, and thank you PHILIP, I am deeply honoured for this award and also that I am the first member of the music industry to be here. That means a great deal to me and all of us. No talent scout, no artist, no band, no label, no CEO, no creative executive ever succeeds on their own, and today I'd like to humbly thank those who made it possible for me to stand before you, including obviously, all of our recording artists and our songwriters. My incredible team at UNIVERSAL MUSIC including all our label heads, our A&R team, our CEO's and our broader VIVENDI family, in particular VINCENT BOLLORÉ, whose support and belief for me and us and the entire team has enabled us to achieve the kind of success and what we are trying to achieve in the transformation of this business. As a kid who started out as a talent scout, my job has since changed in many ways. While our labels seek out great new talent, today I scout for brands and digital platforms and new forms of technology as well as great people to collectively work on behalf of our artists.

"Bearing that in mind I am very proud to report that at UNIVERSAL we're engaging a completely new generation of music lovers around the world on a scale that we've never seen. Our business, our connectivity, all that we do has to be about the music, and the quality of the music and the creativity is what connects all of us. That is our key focus. At LIONS, I have been incredibly inspired by what I've seen and the people I've met, by the diverse talents, even the presentations and the awards that have been given so far this evening... fabulous. Everyone's innovation and enthusiasm... that excites me and I'm sure it excites all of us in terms of all the things we can do together, so I thank you for that. On one last note, I hope you don't mind. I lost someone in my family last week and this is a big award for me, my older brother NIGEL, who was a great music executive, so I'd like to dedicate this award on my behalf to my brother."

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