FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 26 September 2006

WPP's GroupM and Universal Music launch joint venture to develop music and brand partnerships

GroupM, the media investment arm of the global communications services group WPP, and , the world's leading music company, have formed a joint venture, BrandAmp, to develop music and brand partnerships for clients. The new venture will provide marketers with direct, immediate access to Universal Music's market-leading expertise, resources and catalogues, enabling them to create and deploy advanced music partnerships worldwide. The venture, a 50/50 partnership between the two companies, will also seek to work with other artists and record companies in handling third-party synchronisation deals and music partnerships.

The agreement was announced today by Sir Martin Sorrell, CEO of WPP, and Lucian Grainge, Chairman & CEO of Universal Music Group International.

BrandAmp will identify opportunities for WPP agencies and clients to tap into the growing consumer appetite for music across a wide variety of media platforms, drawing on Universal Music's unrivalled relationships with artists, musicians and talent management, and its vast catalogue of recordings.

Sir Martin Sorrell said, "In a world of media fragmentation, music remains a powerful medium. We see an increasing desire for brands to partner with bands. BrandAmp will allow us to facilitate and manage those partnerships more successfully. Universal Music is the world's leading music company, with a roster of artists of unmatched breadth and diversity. It is the perfect partner to provide marketers with the most compelling and imaginative music solutions."

Lucian Grainge commented: "This new venture makes sense on many levels. It brings closer together two creative communities which are driven by innovation and imagination. It will also create a direct relationship out of what was an unnecessarily arms length way of doing business."

Stephen Allan, CEO, GroupM said, "Music partnerships are an effective means for brands to target very specific audiences. BrandAmp will allow our agencies to deliver just that."

BrandAmp will be based in London.

Contact For WPP: Feona McEwan, Group Communications Director +44 (0)20 7408 2204 www.wpp.com

For Universal Music Adam White, Universal Music Group International +44 (0)20 7747 4217 (office) [email protected] +44 (0)7808 924 030 (mobile) www.umusic.com

About WPP

WPP (NASDAQ:WPPGY) is one of the world’s leading communication services groups providing national, multinational and global clients with advertising; media investment management; information, insight & consultancy; public relations & public affair; brand & identity, healthcare and specialist communications.

WPP worldwide companies include JWT, Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide, Y&R, The Voluntary United Group, Grey Worldwide, MindShare, Mediacom, Mediaedge:cia, Millward Brown, Research International, KMR Group, Ogilvy One Worldwide, Wunderman, 141 Worldwide, Hill & Knowlton, Ogilvy Public Relations, Burson-Marstellar, Cohn & Wolfe, CommonHealth, Sudler & Hennessey, Ogilvy Healthworld, Enterprise IG, Landor and Fitch among others.

WPP companies provide communications services to clients worldwide including more than 330 of the Fortune Global 500; over one-half of the Nasdaq 100 and over 30 of the Fortune e-50. Collectively, WPP employs more than 97,000 people in 2,000 offices in 106 countries.

About Universal Music Group

Universal Music Group is the world's largest music company with wholly owned record operations or licensees in 75 countries. Its businesses also include Universal Music Publishing Group, one of the industry's largest global music publishing operations.

Universal Music Group consists of record labels Decca Music Group, , Interscope Geffen A&M Records, , Island Def Jam Music Group, Lost Highway Records, , MCA Nashville, Mercury Nashville, , , , Universal Music Latino, Universal Records Group, and Verve Music Group 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 catalog of music in the industry, which 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 eLabs, a new media and technologies division, and Universal Music Mobile.

Universal Music Group is a unit of , a global media and communications company.