As the music industry continues to embrace the growing opportunities presented by the metaverse and digital tech, Universal Music Group has made a big move to further integrate its brand and artists into the new digital world. The music industry giant has partnered with avatar technology company Genies, which has done a lot of work for the metaverse, including creating Paris Hilton’s avatar for this year’s Decentraland Metaverse Festival and previously collaborating with UMG to develop avatars for artists such as Justin Bieber and Shawn Mendes.
This new partnership will enable UMG and Genies to develop avatars and digital wearable NFTs for the former’s roster of artists. Each artist will be provided with an official virtual identity that they will be able to use for metaverse activities and activations, in order to provide a “persistent virtual representation of themselves across the metaverse to engage with fans in expressive and authentic ways,” according to a release.
“UMG continues to lead and unlock what is possible with Web 3.0 and virtual economies,” Celine Joshua, UMG’s Executive Vice President, Commercial Innovation & Artist Strategy, said upon making the announcement. “With our Genies partnership, we created an ideal framework and toolkit to empower our artists in the evolving digital universe.”
UMG artists will also be able to release exclusive wearables that their fans will be able to collect and use for their own avatars. According to Genies Head of Talent Relations Jake Becker, the company will be working “hands-on with UMG and their incredible roster to define what it really means for an artist to build and establish a virtual identity.” This undertaking represents an exciting next step for artists’ exploration of the metaverse, and fans can look forward to new opportunities to engage with their favorite artists in 2022.
“We’re not bringing culture to NFTs and crypto. Genies and UMG together are bringing the power of NFTs and crypto to culture,” said Genies CEO Akash Nigam in a statement. “This next era of the internet is about empowering people with more ownership and capabilities. UMG’s roster of talent represents some of the world’s most entrepreneurial pioneers, and by equipping these iconic artists with their own Genie avatars, we’re excited to help them realize even more potential in Web 3.0.”