Universal Music Hires Spotify AI Dj Engineer To Lead Applied AI

Published: 9/29/2026

Universal Music Group has appointed Òscar Celma as Senior Vice President of Applied AI and Machine Learning, reportedly creating the company’s first role of its kind.

Celma previously led Spotify engineering teams involved with AI DJ, Jam and Daylist. His earlier work also included music recommendation and discovery at Pandora, SiriusXM and Gracenote.

UMG says Celma will lead the development and application of AI and machine-learning capabilities across its global labels, divisions and businesses. The company has not announced his first product or implementation.

Why it matters: Major labels are moving beyond licensing outside AI platforms and building internal AI leadership. That could affect artist analytics, fan discovery, catalog management, marketing and future creation tools.

For independent AI music creators, the appointment signals that recommendation data and artist-to-fan matching will remain central to how major music companies use artificial intelligence.

Source: AI Musicpreneur — UMG Hires Spotify AI DJ Engineer Òscar Celma as AI SVP

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