Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) announced that Michael Sammis has been appointed president of Universal Publishing Production Music (UPPM), a division of UMPG that creates, produces, and licenses a broad style of music for use in film, television, advertising, broadcast and other media. He succeeds Gary Gross.
Sammis, a 21-year veteran of UMPG, where he most recently served as the company’s CFO and executive VP of operations, will continue to be based in Santa Monica and report to Jody Gerson, chairman and CEO of UMPG.
In making the announcement, Gerson said, “As a senior member of our executive management team, Mike has played a central role in helping transform UMPG into the premiere home for the world’s greatest songwriters. With his experience integrating two of the largest publishing acquisitions in the history of the business and building a finance and administration structure second to none, I can’t think of anyone better to lead our production music business to the next level.”
“Great production music helps drive narrative and creates lasting impressions with audiences. This is what appealed to me about UPPM,” Sammis said. “I’m thrilled to move over to lead our brilliant production music company and help them build toward an even stronger future. I would like to thank Jody and Marc Cimino, UMPG’s chief operating officer, for their faith in me and for giving me this incredible opportunity.”
By owning both the master and the copyright for compositions, UPPM provides clients with efficient and cost-effective licenses and solutions. The company’s production music libraries include Chronic Trax, EVO, FirstCom, Killer Tracks, MasterSource, Network Music, and OneMusic from the U.S.; Galerie, Koka Media and Kosinus from France; Match Music from Sweden; UBM from Germany; RCAL from Italy; Vitamin A from Australia; and Atmosphere Music, Match Music, Bruton and Chappell in the U.K. UPPM has production music library operations throughout the world, including the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, Benelux, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Scandinavia, South Africa, Australia, Spain, Greece, Turkey and Asia.
Supreme Court Allows Multibillion-Dollar Class Action Lawsuit To Proceed Against Meta
The Supreme Court is allowing a multibillion-dollar class action investors' lawsuit to proceed against Facebook parent Meta, stemming from the privacy scandal involving the Cambridge Analytica political consulting firm.
The justices heard arguments in November in Meta's bid to shut down the lawsuit. On Friday, they decided that they were wrong to take up the case in the first place.
The high court dismissed the company's appeal, leaving in place an appellate ruling allowing the case to go forward.
Investors allege that Meta did not fully disclose the risks that Facebook users' personal information would be misused by Cambridge Analytica, a firm that supported Donald Trump 's first successful Republican presidential campaign in 2016.
Inadequacy of the disclosures led to two significant price drops in the price of the company's shares in 2018, after the public learned about the extent of the privacy scandal, the investors say.
Meta spokesman Andy Stone said the company was disappointed by the court's action. "The plaintiff's claims are baseless and we will continue to defend ourselves as this case is considered by the District Court," Stone said in an emailed statement.
Meta already has paid a $5.1 billion fine and reached a $725 million privacy settlement with users.
Cambridge Analytica had ties to Trump political strategist Steve Bannon. It had paid a Facebook app developer for access to the personal information of about 87 million Facebook users. That data was then used to target U.S. voters during the 2016 campaign.
The lawsuit is one of two high court cases involving class-action lawsuits against tech companies. The justices also are wrestling with whether to shut down a class action against Nvidia.... Read More