Zug, Switzerland, 10th February 2022
Utopia Music, the Swiss Music fintech company, announced a key addition to its leadership team, with the hire of 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. In this role he was responsible for overseeing and leading the strategic development and marketing for the music company’s diverse 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 per April 1st, 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 Mäkeläinen.
Zick joined UMG from Spotify, where he exited after 5 years as Director Artist Relations, in 2018 to lead its International Division. During his time with the world’s largest music company he helped support and grow the German business and 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 Mäkeläinen. “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 optimize 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.”
Zick’s multi-faceted career spans over two decades in the Music Industry and has seen him work across streaming services, record labels, booking, public relations, as well as musical instrument and audio brands. He joined Spotify’s Artist Services team in Germany in 2012 where he played a pivotal role in building Spotify’s relationship with the creative community. Zick went on to become Director of Artist Relations, helping to drive the evolution of Spotify For Artists, as well as the company’s launch in Japan. Prior to Spotify, Zick spent time at Apogee Electronics as Executive Consultant to the CEO and at Gibson where he rose to Director, Entertainment Relations, responsible for directing all aspects of Entertainment Relations activities in Europe.
