Utopia Music has appointed Ulf Zick as chief marketing officer.
Zick is a music industry veteran with more than two decades of experience across a variety of functions, most recently as managing director, international at Universal Music Germany. He was responsible for overseeing the strategic development and marketing for the international talent roster, and was an important driver of the digital transformation of the business.
Zick will be based in Zug, Switzerland, and will join the Swiss fintech music company on April 1, 2022.
He will be responsible for the overall strategic vision and direction of Utopia's marketing, positioning, communications, content strategy and execution of the brand direction. He will report directly to Utopia’s CEO Markku Makelainen.
Zick joined UMG in Germany from Spotify, where he exited after five years as director, artist relations, in 2018 to lead its international division. He worked closely on the careers of some of the world’s biggest stars in the German market, including Billie Eilish, Lady Gaga, Olivia Rodrigo, Sting and Metallica.
In 2021, he guided the German roll-out of ABBA’s comeback with Voyage, culminating in the band selling more units of the record in Germany than in any other country in the world.
“We are very proud to have Ulf join Utopia to spearhead the strategic marketing of our business,” said Makelainen. “The breadth and depth of Ulf’s expertise is rare. Having worked on all sides of the business, and at the intersection of music and technology for many years, Ulf brings a unique perspective of the Music Industry that will be valuable to Utopia as we continue on our mission to secure ‘Fair pay For Every Play’. We couldn’t be happier to welcome him to the team.”
“Joining Utopia, after an incredibly fun, rewarding and educational time at Universal Music, is a matter of the heart to me,” said Zick. “I have been obsessed with music ever since I was a kid and never wanted to be in any other space. Having been lucky enough to work at some of the world’s greatest companies in both the music and tech space, I noticed there is a massive need to optimise that important bridge. Enabling the Industry to hyperfocus on its strengths while fixing the entire ecosystem will have a lasting, positive impact on the industry at large and, subsequently, on artists and creators.”
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