Universal Music Group

From his rented mansion on Carolwood Drive, Michael Jackson sketched out ideas for the merchandise he planned to sell in conjunction with his "This Is It" concert series at London's O2 Arena, including a varsity jacket and a red handbag with a diagonal black stripe that evoked his costumes from the "Thriller" music video. The May brainstorming session resulted in designs for more than 300 items, including jigsaw puzzles and games for children and rhinestone dog tags.

Universal Music Group and two other record companies sued Baidu.com Inc., China's most-used Internet search site, over illegal music downloads after a ruling against Yahoo Inc.'s music service in the country. Universal, Sony BMG Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group Corp. sued Baidu in Beijing on Monday, said the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, which represents the companies. The record companies also sued Sohu.com Inc.

More than a dozen recording artists, including the estates of Count Basie and Benny Goodman, sued Universal Music on Friday, saying they had been cheated out of more than $6 million in royalties since 1998. The artists, many of whom signed with recording companies that were later bought by Universal, sued the world's largest music label for breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty in an action filed in New York state's court system.

Seeking to become el grande in the growing U.S. Latin music market, Universal Music Group on Thursday said it had agreed to buy Univision Communications Inc.'s record division. The purchase price was nearly $140 million, according to two people close to the negotiations who asked not to be identified because the financial terms were confidential. The acquisition, which is subject to regulatory approval, would more than triple Universal's share of the Latin music market to about 49%.

After five years and about 35,000 lawsuits, the major record companies have ended their prodigious litigation campaign against music fans who shared songs online without the labels' permission. It's a welcome step for many reasons, not the least of which being that the suits were eroding the public's support for copyrights in general. But as the Recording Industry Assn.

Universal Music Group revived its Mercury label in the U.S. and named Sony BMG Music Entertainment executive David Massey as president. Mercury, whose roster once included John Mellencamp and Kiss, will be part of the New York-based Island Def Jam Music Group, Universal said. Mercury will operate separately in Britain.

IT'S HARD TO IMAGINE a consumer-goods company refusing to sell the most popular version of its product, but that's just what the world's largest record companies have been doing. While consumers and independent artists made the MP3 format the lingua franca of the Digital Age, the major music labels offered downloadable songs only in formats that were scrambled to deter copying. At least until this year.

European Union regulators gave Universal Music Group clearance to buy BMG Music Publishing for $2.09 billion in a deal that would create the world's largest music publishing company. The EU warned, however, that its "serious doubts" about the deal's effect on online music were allayed only by the companies' plan to sell the rights to some hits from the '80s and '90s by artists such as Justin Timberlake, Iron Maiden and R. Kelly.

Vivendi's Universal Music Group said Friday that it had agreed to buy Sanctuary Group for $88 million to add merchandising and management of artists including Elton John. Universal Music's Centenary Music Holdings Ltd. will pay about 39 cents a share in cash for Sanctuary. That's 13% more than Thursday's closing price for London-based Sanctuary. The deal broadens Universal Music's scope, adding merchandising, artist management and talent businesses, as the company looks for new revenue streams.