What does it take to steer the world’s largest music company through one of the most disruptive eras in music history? Michael Nash, chief digital officer and executive vp of Universal Music Group, joins Kristin Robinson on Billboard On The Record to discuss how UMG is navigating AI, platform power and artist rights at a critical turning point for the industry. Nash reflects on when generative AI first landed on his radar and revisits the pivotal Grammy Week moment two years ago when Universal pulled its catalog from TikTok, following a company-wide stance led by CEO Lucian Grainge. He breaks down the negotiations, the risks of AI-generated content diluting artist royalties and why UMG drew a hard line that reshaped its platform deals. The conversation expands to AI-driven fraud, discovery overload, copyright challenges and how Universal is working to embrace innovation, offering listeners a rare inside look at how one of music’s most powerful companies is helping define the rules for the industry’s next era.
Love what you hear? Follow Billboard On The Record on Instagram, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube @billboard so you never miss an episode.
Billboard On The Record is a podcast in partnership with SickBird Productions.
Host: Kristin Robinson
Executive Producers: Diona DaCosta, Jade Watson
Produced By: Kayla Forman, Mateo Vergara
Edited By: Rachel Derbyshire
Kristin Robinson: How is the world’s biggest music company thinking about AI? What about TikTok, or streaming services, or gaming? Luckily, I have the perfect person to ask all of my burning questions to today.
My special guest this week is chief digital officer of Universal Music Group, Michael Nash.
Michael Nash, welcome to On the Record. Thanks so much for being here.
Michael Nash: Great to be here.
Kristin Robinson: So for those who are not familiar with Michael, who are tuning into this show,
he’s the chief digital officer at Universal Music Group, which is the largest company in
the music business. I think there’s a lot of people who might not know the names of the executives behind these companies past, like, the CEO. But really, you are architecting so many of the major deals that define the music business, from TikTok, to Meta, to all the streaming services, Spotify, Apple, Amazon, and now all the AI stuff, so. And y’all have been very early on announcing
a lot of deals. So I’m super excited to have you here. Thanks for coming.
Michael Nash: I’m very excited to be here. Um, that’s a, a kind and flattering framing of the work that I’m fortunate enough to be able to advance on behalf of our artists and our labels and publishing company. But it is a very exciting time right now … with respect to the digital ecosystem ’cause so much is going on with the advent of AI technology.
Watch the full video above!