Alex Webb, Columnist

Universal Music Needs to Break Out

Vivendi needs to show it’s serious about setting the music label free

May 18, 2018 at 8:41 AM UTC

Alex Webb is a correspondent for Bloomberg Quicktake. He previously covered the technology, telecoms and media industries in London, San Francisco and Munich.

A song and dance routine.
Photographer: Sam Kang Li

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Vivendi SA has spent 18 months tantalizing investors with the prospect of a sale of its stake in Universal Music Group.

It's hard to believe it coincidental that the French media conglomerate is finally ready to dance just a month after Spotify Technology SA went public. So far, the music streaming service's non-IPO has been broadly successful. Despite being unprofitable, Spotify enjoys a market value of $24 billion.