57: Business lessons from building music fandoms: Insights from Universal Music Group Executive Vice President of Global Marketing and Partnerships Naomi McMahon

How can brands build lasting value and relevance?

As brands increasingly see fandoms not as surface-level add-ons but as part of a long-term strategy, many are building value and cultural relevance through authentic connection, thoughtful investment and meaningful engagement with fan communities.

In today's episode, Naomi McMahon, EVP of global marketing and partnerships at Universal Music Group, explains strategies that can help brands move beyond one-off projects to build authentic, mutually beneficial relationships with fan communities—and use insights to make more informed decisions about where and how to show up.

Drawing on her experience across music, technology, advertising and global organizations, Naomi explains that strong brand-artist collaborations can move beyond transactions to create meaningful, lasting connections. They can do this by:

Understanding an artist's world, fan community and broader creative ecosystem before deciding how the brand should show up

Giving artists enough creative freedom to use their authentic voice and perspective to shape the relationship

Creating authentic experiences across content, live events and other touchpoints that invite participation, not just consumption

Music and fandom are deeply personal, and they can offer marketers a powerful way to understand where culture and communities are heading. Naomi explains how brands can combine cultural signals and audience data with instinct and judgment to identify meaningful opportunities, take calculated risks and show up in ways that feel authentic, instead of chasing every moment.

The episode offers a practical perspective on how brands can move artist collaborations beyond short-term attention to create lasting relationships with audiences and unlock brand value.

In this episode, you'll hear:

Ways to build brand collaborations around shared value, instead of one-off exposure

Why authenticity is important for long-term audience connections