Universal Music, X5 Music Bring Together Blue Note Records and Verve Catalogs For First Time

 
U5 -- a joint venture between Universal Music Group and X5 Music Group -- will help introduce America's jazz legacy to new audiences this summer through a series of digital compilations, which will bring together seminal recordings from Universal Music's Blue Note Records and Verve labels for the first time, including artists like Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Thelonious Monk. As U5 has focused on classical music since its founding, the jazz releases mark a milestone for the partnership, whose unique compilations make it easy and enjoyable for listeners to navigate and explore new and unfamiliar genres.

The U5 releases will mix seminal and timeless tracks from Blue Note Records and Verve, whose catalogs include some of jazz's most iconic recordings. The compilations unlock the combined potential of these two major jazz catalogs, simplify musical discovery for new audiences, and help listeners experience and appreciate the genre in new ways. U5's 'Songbook' series, for example -- which combines other artists' renditions of songs written by Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and more -- helps illustrate that many top jazz performers were also skilled songwriters. All of the U5 compilations will be available globally through all digital platforms.

"With these compilations, there's never been a better time to dive into jazz," X5 Chief Executive Officer Johan Lagerlof said. "Blue Note Records and Verve are home to the best and most historic catalogs in the genre. Bringing together these classic recordings from both labels on single albums will makes the very best of jazz available to new listeners in exciting and accessible collections."

For X5, a Stockholm-based digital-music pioneer that made its name in classical music, the jazz releases underscore the success of its U.S. expansion in 2009, aimed at partnering with labels in a wide range of genres, to help tap the full revenue potential of their catalogs. The fact that the new compilations combine tracks from both Blue Note Records and Verve illustrates X5's "digital 2.0" strategy of releasing the world's best music in ways previously limited by industry boundaries.

U5 Jazz albums include:
'The Charlie Parker Songbook'
'The Duke Ellington Songbook'
'American Jazz Divas'
'Harlem River Drive - Jazz From the Streets'
'Jazz Beach Club'
'Essential Jazz Anthems'
'Jazz Groove'
'Jazz Summer Vibes'
'Soul Jazz'
'Jazz Dancefloor Vibes'
'Jazz Sax Giants'

ABOUT X5 MUSIC GROUP 
X5 Music Group (http://www.x5musicgroup.com
ABOUT UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP
Universal Music Group is the global music leader, with wholly owned operations in 60 territories. Its businesses also include Universal Music Publishing Group, one of the industry's premier music publishing operations worldwide. 

Universal Music Group's labels include A&M/Octone, Angel, Astralwerks, Blue Note Records, Capitol Christian Music Group, Capitol Records, Capitol Records Nashville, Caroline, Decca, Def Jam Recordings, Deutsche Grammophon, Disa, Emarcy, EMI Records, EMI Records Nashville, Fonovisa, Geffen Records, Harvest, Interscope Records, Island Records, Machete Music, Manhattan, MCA Nashville, Mercury Nashville, Mercury Records, Motown Records, Polydor Records, Republic Records, Universal Music Latino, Verve Music Group and Virgin Records, as well as a multitude of record labels owned or distributed by its record company subsidiaries around the world. The Universal Music Group owns the most extensive catalogue of music in the industry, which includes the last 100 years of the world's most popular artists and their recordings. UMG's catalogue is marketed through two distinct divisions, Universal Music Enterprises (in the U.S.) and Universal Strategic Marketing (outside the U.S.). Universal Music Group also includes Global Digital Business, its new media and technologies division and Bravado, its merchandising company.

Universal Music Group is a fully owned subsidiary of Vivendi.