Saban Music Group Aligns With UMG for Worldwide Distribution, Marketing

By Variety Staff

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Saban Music Group (SMG), the music company bearing the name of entertainment mogul Haim Saban, has entered into a strategic alliance for global distribution and marketing with Universal Music Group (UMG). Caroline, a subsidiary of UMG’s Capitol Music Group, will handle distribution for the U.S. and globally, where it operates 11 offices. Caroline is run by president Jacqueline Saturn and headquartered at the iconic Capitol Records Tower in Hollywood, across town from UMG’s Santa Monica base.

The partnership officially launches on Jan. 10 with the release of “Further Up” by popular Israeli duo Static & Ben El (pictured) and featuring Pitbull.

Referring to UMG as “the No. 1 music company in the world with an unprecedented streak of artist development,” Saban said in announcing the agreement, “There is no better home for our artists and their music.”

Added Sir Lucian Grainge, UMG’s Chairman & CEO: “Haim has a proven track record of creating world-class entertainment. We’re looking forward to working with his team at Saban Music to bring groundbreaking new artists and music to fans around the globe.”

Running SMG since its July 2019 launch is Gustavo Lopez, himself a UMG veteran. Saban has made a $500 million commitment to fund SMG and invest in the acquisition of recording, publishing and management entities.

Pop duo became a breakout hit when they first released the bouncy, Reggaeton-flavored song “Tudo Bom” in June 2017. Soon after, it earned the distinction of the most-watched video in Israeli YouTube history, garnering more than 300 million views, and amassing fans around the world.