UMG DIVES DEEPER INTO THE METAVERSE

Universal Music Group's Digital Strategy team has created two new roles to further explore the Web3 and metaverse space via partnerships with accelerators, startups and early-stage entities.

Alvaro Galbete-Velilla has been appointed SVP, new business, while Kristen Bender has been elevated to SVP of Digital Innovation Strategy & Business Development. Both will be based in Santa Monica and report to EVP, Chief Digital Officer Michael Nash.

"We believe our leadership in innovation is a key factor placing us at the forefront of the music industry's transformation, so we're excited to have Alvaro and Kristen fulfill these key roles," Nash said. "We're building a team more focused than ever on harnessing digital disruption to deliver new opportunities for our artists and labels while influencing the formation of the next generation of music services."

In a related story, we still don't know what the hell the metaverse is.