Warner Music Group is Playing Catch-Up with Sony in the Metaverse

Warner Music Group is looking for a senior metaverse director with extensive experience in building games to further establish its footprint in the promising but unproven virtual space. But the company is already behind in metaverse innovation compared to its music industry rival Sony.

The expansion of metaverse technology means many companies are hiring high-level executives charged with leading the company into the metaverse, and Crate and Barrel and Disney are among the non-tech companies who have hired executives with expertise. In the music industry, the metaverse offers additional streams of revenue through digital concerts, custom wearables and advertising, along with fostering brand awareness and fan connections.

As the third-largest record label in the world based on revenue, it is natural for Warner to pursue a piece of the metaverse market share. And its search for a gaming expert rather than a business executive to fill the role suggests Warner is planning a gamified experience for the future of its brand, which could include elements like competitions and scoring points within an elaborate digital world.

Warner has yet to make major strides in the metaverse compared to its competitors. While Universal Music Group has made similar advances as Warner regarding creating avatars and non-fungible token (NFT) wearables, it has also launched 10:22PM, a label signing artists who create content in the metaverse. Sony Music Entertainment, by comparison, has already hosted multiple metaverse concerts by hip hop and rap artists Lil Nas X, 24kGoldn and Travis Scott, viewed by 80 million people and translating to tens of millions of dollars in merchandise sales. But although Universal and Sony are active in the metaverse, neither have a designated metaverse director or executive like Warner is looking for.

Warner, whose artists include Dua Lipa and Ed Sheeran, has already started building its metaverse presence. The company struck a deal with Genies, an NFT marketplace, to create avatars and digital wearables for artists in April 2021. In a similar deal in September, Warner tapped OpenSea, another NFT marketplace, to allow certain artists early access to new digital products and custom landing pages. Warner didn’t disclose how many or which artists would have access to the perk. The company also announced in January it would build a music theme park and concert venue in The Sandbox, a popular metaverse engine. It hasn’t actually launched yet, much less hosted any virtual concerts.