Former Spotify, Pandora/SiriusXM andCondé Nast executive brings more than two decades of expertise in AI, music discovery and personalization
SANTA MONICA, Calif., Sept. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Universal Music Group (UMG), the world leader in music-based entertainment, today announced the appointment of Òscar Celma as Senior Vice President, Applied AI and Machine Learning, effective immediately.
A recognized expert in AI, machine learning and music recommendation, Celma has helped shape how people discover and experience music. At Spotify, he helped lead the development of AI-powered personalized listening experiences including AI DJ, Jam and Daylist, as well as personalization and discovery products used by hundreds of millions of listeners worldwide.
Celma will help lead the development and application of AI and machine learning across UMG’s global operations, supporting UMG’s labels, divisions and businesses. He will report to Hannah Poferl, UMG’s Chief Data Officer.
Hannah Poferl, UMG’s Chief Data Officer, said, “Òscar brings a unique blend of quantitative and product experience, deep expertise in AI, and a love of music. He’s built teams that have delivered and knows how to turn data at scale into useful insights. With the breadth and depth of UMG’s data, there’s enormous potential for him to help our teams do more for our artists.”
Celma said, “I’ve spent much of my career exploring how technology can serve artists, songwriters and music fans. It’s an exciting time to join Universal Music Group, given its industry leadership in using AI to expand what’s creatively and commercially possible. I look forward to working with Hannah and leaders across UMG to advance our AI and machine learning capabilities to support human artistry.
Most recently, Celma led Machine Learning and Product Analytics at Condé Nast. Previously, as Director of Engineering at Spotify, he led engineering teams responsible for new listening experiences. He also spent seven years at Pandora/SiriusXM in senior data science leadership roles, focused on machine learning, music discovery, and recommendation. Earlier in his career, he was a Senior Research Scientist at Gracenote and co-founder and Chief Innovation Officer of Barcelona-based BMAT Music Innovators.
Celma holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science and Digital Communication from Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona and is a widely published researcher in music information retrieval and recommendation systems. He is the author of the Springer-published book Music Recommendation and Discovery.
At Universal Music Group, we exist to shape culture through the power of artistry. UMG is the world leader in music-based entertainment, with a broad array of businesses engaged in recorded music, music publishing, merchandising, and audiovisual content. Featuring the most comprehensive catalogue of recordings and songs across every musical genre, UMG identifies and develops artists and produces and distributes the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful music in the world. Committed to artistry, innovation, and entrepreneurship, UMG fosters the development of services, platforms, and business models in order to broaden artistic and commercial opportunities for our artists and create new experiences for fans. For more information, visit www.universalmusic.com.
