Universal Music Gains U.S. Market Share

Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group Corp. gained market share in the U.S. last year as their newly formed rival Sony BMG Entertainment lost ground.

Universal Music, owned by Vivendi Universal, strengthened its No. 1 position with 31.7% of total albums sold last year, compared with 29.6% in 2004, Nielsen SoundScan said. Sony BMG, a joint venture of Sony Corp. and Bertelsmann, fell to 25.1% from 28.5%. Warner Music, run by Edgar Bronfman Jr., increased its share to 15% from 14.7%.