Universal Music Group (UMG) has announced a new strategic agreement that will see the companies collaborating to enhance music and commercial integrations across artist and fan experiences.
The deal includes the integration of commercial features that aim to drive increased engagement and revenue for artists and labels, with the ability to leverage Shopify for digital and physical merchandise sales. The two companies will work closely to streamline artist and label engagement within the platform, providing direct creative and operational support and access to new Roblox tools and beta features.
UMG says this collaboration reflects a ‘shared commitment to responsible AI practices’ and to supporting the music and artists UMG represents. By aligning on the best interests of creators, Roblox and UMG are ensuring a platform environment where participating creators can confidently leverage their intellectual property alongside evolving platform innovations.
Promoting innovation, empowering artists and deepening fan engagement
In making the announcement, Michael Nash, EVP & Chief Digital Officer, Universal Music Group said, “UMG’s strategic relationship with Roblox is built on shared objectives of promoting innovation, empowering artists and deepening fan engagement. With this new framework, we are strengthening our commercial, creative and operational collaboration and unlocking new opportunities for our artists and labels. Built on this foundation and highlighted by the impending launch of UMG’s flagship ‘Tastemaker’ experience, this agreement ensures that UMG continues to lead the industry in shaping the future of music in immersive environments.
“We have worked closely with Universal Music Group over the years to bring some of their top artists to Roblox to engage with next-gen fans in innovative and creative ways,” said Enrico D’Angelo, Chief Business Officer, Roblox. “This strategic agreement represents a major step forward in building the future of immersive entertainment, with this partnership significantly expanding the commercial and creative opportunities for UMG artists and labels on our platform.”
Stray Kids now live
UMG will continue to roll out a series of artist activations across the platform over the coming months beginning with Stray Kids, (JYP/Republic Records) which launches today.
Over the past two years, UMG has launched several innovative industry-first campaigns directly on the platform, these have included the launch of Beat Galaxy, UMG’s own curated space for music discovery in 2023 and last year saw the launch of Boombox, with Styngr, which allowed licensed music streaming to be integrated into gaming experiences within the platform for the first time.
Roblox has increasingly become a cultural hub for music fan engagement, as seen with recent artist activations from the likes of Yeat (Capitol Records), Lady Gaga (Interscope), Chappell Roan (Island Records), Glass Animals (Polydor Records/Republic Records) and Sofi Tukker (Virgin Music Group).
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Steve is an award-winning editor and copywriter with more than 20 years’ experience specialising in consumer technology and video games. With a career spanning from the first PlayStation to the latest in VR, he's proud to be a lifelong gamer.
