UMG Is Putting the Final Touches on ‘UMusicLift’—New Incubator for Music Startups?

Last year, Universal Music filed for a new trademark for a service called ‘UMusicLift.’ Now it appears they’re putting the finishing touches on launching a new music startup incubator. Here’s what we know.

The first appearance of the ‘UMusicLift’ brand appeared in a USPTO filing marked December 9, 2023. That filing appeared to be a broad reaching trademark for the UMusicLift name, spanning music education and information about the music industry. In short, a generalized trademark application to cover all potential bases for the name.

Now the official ‘UMusicLift’ website is online, which gives us a bit more idea about what Univeral Music has planned for the brand. The initiative is coming out of Universal Music Group’s Digital Innovation team and will serve as a new online hub dedicated to “supporting the next generation of diverse, music-related startups and entrepreneurs who aim to accelerate the next wave of digital transformation.”

So what will the music tech products look like that come from this model? It could be a copy-paste of the early-stage support we’ve seen in Silicon Valley time and time again. Or it could be a place for UMG’s Digital team to spin out its own emerging concepts.

UMG’s SVP, Digital Innovation Strategy & Business Development Kristen Cullen Bender spoke a bit about the new initiative, saying “you’re going to find tools for learning, news, spotlights, all these different resources and pathways to connect back into the business.”

The page itself only offers a splash screen with its ‘coming soon’ message and a place for users to sign up to be notified when the hub actually launches. So when will those finishing touches come? Who knows—the site is up after less than a month of the trademark filing going live so UMG is moving at a good clip here.