Universal Music Group (UMG) shareholders approved CEO Lucian GrangeThe compensation package of 138.8 million euros ($128 million) from 2023 to a non-binding advisory vote at the company's annual general meeting in the Netherlands on Thursday (May 16).
A majority of investors voted to approve all proposals to be voted on this year, including the billionaire's reappointment Bill Ackman, Cyrille Bollore and others as non-executive directors despite criticism from shareholder advisory groups Glass Lewis, which last month called UMG's pay practices excessive and said the board lacked independence.
Advisory shareholder votes like these are only advisory and not enforceable, but they are closely watched as indicators of investor sentiment about a company's pay policies and the people who make up their boards. Whenever a significant percentage of investors express disapproval, which Glass Lewis defines as 20% or more, directors consult with shareholders about how to make internal changes to address their concerns.
Live Nation and Cumulus Media investors used recent shareholder meetings to vote their disapproval of the pay packages of those companies' CEOs.
UMG did not immediately disclose the percentage of votes in favor of the proposals at this year's annual meeting, which was broadcast live only to registered shareholders. Last year, a small majority of UMG investors representing about 59% of shares voted in favor of UMG's remuneration policy, which details the 2023 compensation packages paid to Grainge and the deputy chief executive Vincent Vallejo.
About 58% of UMG's voting shares are collectively held by Ackman's Pershing Square Capital Management, Tencent, Bollore and Vivendi. Last year, all four shareholders voted to approve UMG's remuneration policy.
Grainge's total compensation for 2023 is €138,814,000 or $128,264,000 based on a monthly average exchange rate of 0.924. In 2022, he was the third-highest paid music executive, having received total compensation of €47.3 million ($49.7 million) thanks to a performance bonus of €28.8 million ($30.3 million) on top of his base salary of 15, 4 million euros ($16.2 million). ).
In 2023, Grainge had a base salary of 7.5 million euros (just over $8 million) and a bonus of 15.16 million euros (almost $16.3 million) and a one-time stock transition award worth 92,406,852 euros (about 100 million dollars). This award was paid half in restricted stock units and half in performance stock options. Performance stock options vest for the next five years and can only be removed when UMG stock reaches certain thresholds.
Glenn Peoples contributed reporting.
