Universal Music Chairman Signs New Contract

Industry veteran Doug Morris has signed a five-year contract to continue running Vivendi-owned Universal Music Group, the world’s largest record conglomerate with such stars as Eminem and Shania Twain. Morris was hired in 1995 by Seagram and has seen its Universal music arm through a series of mergers with Dutch giant PolyGram and French utility behemoth Vivendi. Morris, a songwriter whose credits include the Chiffons’ hit “Sweet Talkin’ Guy,” joined Universal after being forced out as U.S. chief of Time Warner’s music sector in a corporate power struggle. Morris has transformed Universal into the leading music company, dominating the U.S. market as well as most of the 63 other countries where it operates.