Universal Music Group is set to relocate its New York offices, the company announced Tuesday, as the world’s largest music company has signed a lease in the Penn 2 building in Manhattan. UMG is expected to make the move in 2027.
The new offices will serve as the headquarters for UMG’s East Coast Republic Collective, the label group comprised of Republic, Def Jam, Island Records, and Mercury. It will also house Bravado, UMG’s merch arm, and the Verve Music Group as well as Universal Music Publishing Group’s east coast offices.
“UMG’s relocation of its New York offices to the new PENN 2 Tower reflects our vision and ambition,” UMG chief operating officer Boyd Muir said in a statement. “Located in the heart of Midtown Manhattan and literally adjacent to Madison Square Garden, one of music’s most storied venues where so many of our artists perform to a packed house, PENN 2 will serve as an ideal nexus for our employees, artists and songwriters.”
Muir said that the new office space will also have music studios and retails spaces to showcase artist merchandise. That retail space will be housed on PENN 2’s ground floor on Seventh Avenue. UMG signed a 22-year lease and will occupy the entire fourth through seventh floors of the building, the company said.
“We are delighted to welcome Universal Music Group to THE PENN DISTRICT, which has firmly established itself as the epicenter of Manhattan’s new West Side,” Glen Weiss, executive vice president of office Leasing and co-head of real estate at Vornado Realty Trust, said in a statement. “Universal Music’s commitment to PENN 2 is further evidence of the district’s appeal to the world’s most iconic brands in business, lifestyle and entertainment.”
