UMG Appoints Former Spotify Executive Òscar Celma to Global AI Role
The executive who helped develop Spotify’s AI DJ joins Universal Music Group as it expands its work in music discovery and licensed AI products.
Universal Music Group (UMG) has appointed former Spotify executive Òscar Celma as Senior Vice President, Applied AI and Machine Learning, bringing a specialist in music recommendation and discovery into a global role.
Celma joins effective immediately and will report to UMG Chief Data Officer Hannah Poferl. He will help lead the development and application of AI and machine learning across the company’s labels, divisions and businesses.
At Spotify, Celma helped lead the development of personalised listening products including AI DJ, Jam and daylist. He most recently led Machine Learning and Product Analytics at Condé Nast and previously spent seven years at Pandora and SiriusXM in senior data science roles focused on music discovery and recommendation.
That background is relevant to one of UMG’s existing areas of AI work: helping listeners find music. In January, the company announced a collaboration with NVIDIA covering music discovery, creation and fan engagement. The companies said they would extend NVIDIA’s Music Flamingo model, which analyses elements of songs including harmony, structure, timbre and lyrics to support forms of discovery beyond conventional tags and genres.
Celma’s interest in the problem predates the current wave of generative AI products. His doctoral thesis at Barcelona’s Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Music Recommendation and Discovery in the Long Tail, examined how recommendation systems could help listeners find music beyond the most popular artists. In 2016, while at Pandora, he presented on the challenge of balancing familiar recommendations with opportunities to discover something new.
Poferl, who joined UMG in January, oversees its global data and analytics strategy. UMG said her remit included using data and AI to support its superfan strategy, connect artists and labels with audiences and assist talent discovery.
“He’s built teams that have delivered and knows how to turn data at scale into useful insights,” Poferl said of Celma’s appointment.
Reporting from inside the Australian music business since '94.
UMG has also expanded its licensed AI activity. In May, it announced agreements with Spotify for a planned paid Premium feature that would let fans create covers and remixes using music from participating artists and songwriters. Earlier this month, UMG and ElevenLabs announced a licensing and product-development agreement beginning with a planned AI music creation platform.
UMG has not said whether Celma will work on its NVIDIA, Spotify or ElevenLabs initiatives. Its announcement also does not specify whether his global role includes responsibility for projects in Australia and New Zealand.
The Music Network has contacted Universal Music Group and Universal Music Australia for further detail on Celma’s remit and the applications expected to fall within his role.
