Universal signs new deal with Lloyd Webber

British composer Lloyd Webber smiles before German movie premiere of 'The Phantom of the Opera' in Munich.

LONDON (Reuters) - Vivendi's Universal Music Group has signed a new, long-term global deal with Andrew Lloyd Webber, allowing it to distribute and market hits from the composer behind "The Phantom of the Opera" and "Evita."

Universal said the deal would cover global recording and publishing agreements for Lloyd Webber's Really Useful Group, expanding an existing agreement with the composer who has sold tens of millions of recordings during the last 40 years.

The contract will allow Universal's Polydor Records to release Lloyd Webber's new "Love Never Dies" musical in March, to coincide with the show's opening in London. The publishing division will offer the catalog for use in film, TV, advertising and other mediums.

"I am delighted to have renewed my partnership with Universal Music," Lloyd Webber said in a statement. "They have been wonderful custodians of my music for over three decades, and it is a relationship that I and my colleagues at RUG value most highly."

Vivendi's Universal Music Group is the largest music group in the world.

(Reporting by Kate Holton, editing by Will Waterman)