Universal Music Group, the unit of French media giant Vivendi SA that is the largest recording company in the world, spent $660,000 lobbying the U.S. government in the fourth quarter of 2009.The amount was more than the $630,000 it spent in the same quarter a year earlier and also exceeded the $570,000 it spent in the third quarter, according to a regulatory filing the company made Jan. 20. The company lobbied in favor of the Performance Rights Act, a bill that would charge traditional radio stations a royalty to be paid to performers and recording companies to play their songs on air. The act is expected to create hundreds of millions of dollars in new revenue annually if passed. From October through December, Universal lobbied Congress, the Office of the Vice President, the Federal Communications Commission and the Commerce Department, according to the report filed with the House clerk’s office.
