Universal Music Group Internships: Your Gateway to the Music Industry
Universal Music Group (UMG) offers internship programs designed to provide students with hands-on experience and exposure to various career paths within the music entertainment industry. These internships are immersive opportunities to contribute to the world's leading music company, committed to artistry, innovation, and entrepreneurship. UMG owns and operates businesses across recorded music, music publishing, merchandising, and audiovisual content in over 60 countries, playing a vital role in identifying, developing, producing, distributing, and promoting music globally.
Eligibility Requirements for UMG Internships
To be eligible for the Universal Music Group Internship Program, candidates must meet the following criteria:
- Enrollment: Be currently enrolled at an accredited two- or four-year college/university in the United States.
- Degree Pursuit: Pursue an undergraduate, graduate, and/or law degree.
- Graduation Timeline: Anticipate graduating between Spring 2026 and Fall 2028.
- Location: Have access to housing and transportation within the designated city, as UMG does not offer housing or transportation accommodations.
- Work Authorization: Be legally authorized to work in the United States and will not require sponsorship for employment visa status, now or in the future (e.g., H1-B, OPT, etc.).
- Time Commitment: Commit to 20 to 40 hours per week, depending on the specific business area.
It is important to carefully review each job description, as multiple opportunities may be available. Applications are typically reviewed in early Spring 2026 for the summer program.
Summer Internship Program Details
The 2026 Summer Internship Program is scheduled to run from June 8 to August 14, 2026. Internships are available in various departments, offering a diverse range of experiences. The UMG Internship Programs (US) recruit for their Summer 2026 intern cohort to join them at their New York, California, Florida, Tennessee & Pennsylvania offices.
Internship Opportunities by Department
Here's a detailed look at some of the internship opportunities available at UMG:
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Analytics/Data
Location: California (Universal Music Enterprises - UMe), Florida, New York, Tennessee
How You’ll CREATE: At UMe, the Analytics department serves as the data hub for catalog operations. Interns in this role will assist in tracking releases, compiling performance reports, researching market trends, and supporting promotional campaigns. This involves collaborating with the commerce team and gaining hands-on experience with DSP partnerships, retail activations, and campaign planning.
Responsibilities:
- Support weekly release campaigns by assisting with DSP pitching, playlist updates, and performance tracking across platforms like Spotify, Apple, Amazon, Pandora, and Deezer.
- Maintain and update key tools and trackers, including affiliate links, playlist assets, AMP and DSP asset folders, and physical product checklists.
- Participate in team meetings and contribute to cross-departmental coordination on marketing and commerce initiatives.
- Assist with data collection, reporting, and weekly chart recaps to highlight key performance trends.
- Conduct quality checks on artist profiles, playlists, and storefronts to ensure accuracy.
- Collaborate on creative projects such as thematic playlists, UGC content reviews, and artist-focused campaign ideas.
- Provide ad-hoc support on special projects including digital campaign submissions, artist store updates, and DSP relationship activities.
Ideal Candidates:
- Proficiency in Google Workspace tools (Docs, Sheets, Slides).
- Working knowledge of music and streaming platforms, including Spotify for Artists, Apple Music for Artists, or Chartmetric.
- Basic design or content creation skills using Canva or similar tools.
Commerce
Location: Tennessee
How You’ll CREATE: The commerce department is responsible for E-commerce, retail, and overall consumption strategies. It acts as a strategic revenue engine, supporting both traditional and modern revenue streams by bridging physical retail, digital sales, and artist merchandise. The department develops and executes streaming strategies to elevate releases across platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, and YouTube, driving visibility, playlisting, and audience growth.
Responsibilities:
- DSP & Release Support:
- Help organize weekly release schedules and update internal tracking documents.
- Draft or format DSP pitch decks and one-sheets for upcoming artist campaigns.
- Research editorial playlist trends and recent DSP activations across competitors.
- Data & Reporting:
- Pull streaming and engagement data for first week and post-release reports.
- Support analysis of campaign performance, identifying standout results or growth moments.
- Compile performance summaries for internal recaps or artist teams.
- Creative & Campaign Coordination:
- Gather assets (artwork, bios, press shots) from label or artist teams for partner submissions.
- Help brainstorm creative marketing ideas for priority projects or DSP-specific campaigns (e.g., Vevo, YouTube Shorts, Amazon Breakthrough).
- Support tour and event coordination-track DSP attendance, manage RSVP lists, and prep partner recaps.
- Team Operations & Communication:
- Take meeting notes and circulate key action items.
- Maintain campaign folders and shared resources for easy team access.
- Contribute to partner newsletters or weekly updates highlighting releases and achievements.
Ideal Candidates:
- Organized, curious, and excited about the intersection of music, data, and storytelling.
- Comfortable working with digital platforms, tracking performance data, and bringing creative ideas to marketing campaigns across streaming services.
- A passion for music and an eagerness to learn the business side of artist development are essential.
Commercial Strategy & Partnerships Team (Commerce)
Location: New York
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How You’ll CREATE: The Commercial Strategy & Partnerships team sits at the intersection of streaming, marketing, data, analytics, and sales, working alongside DSP partners to pitch artist projects and ideate new marketing opportunities, as well as with retail partners and D2C teams.
Responsibilities:
- Help research and maintain industry competitive releases document.
- Help compile assets for artist releases.
- Listen to upcoming artist releases and help pitch across DSPs for support.
- Assist in creating social assets for artists to post upon release.
Ideal Candidates:
- Understanding of DSP backend platforms such as Spotify For Artists, as well as music analytics tools such as Chartmetric.
- Proficiency in Excel/Google sheets, Google Suite, Canva.
- Passion for the business of music & what drives consumption.
Creative Sync
Location: California
How You’ll CREATE: The Interscope Capitol Sync team handles music placement strategy and execution across film, television, trailers, promos, soundtracks, and short form/social media for the Interscope Geffen A&M, Capitol Music Group, Verve, Interscope Capitol Miami, and Lost Highway label groups. Interns gain hands-on experience with creative pitching, industry research, project tracking, and the overall sync process.
Responsibilities:
- Assistance with weekly release schedule updates.
- Support the sync team with sorting and tagging within the audio library on DISCO.
- Support with weekly themed samplers through collecting data, compiling media quotes, and pulling album artwork through internal systems.
- Assist with researching publisher info and pulling label copies using our internal systems.
- Track film and television release dates for our pending sync requests.
- Work on a Monthly TV news update.
- Help update internal grids (artist, client, release schedules) as needed.
- Assist with keeping the "Hit List" updated as needed.
- Various administrative tasks to help support the creative sync team.
Ideal Candidates:
- Passion for creative sync.
- Previous experience with DISCO encouraged.
- A skillful creative sync intern is not afraid to ask questions and takes initiative in areas they see can use a more modern approach.
D2C/eCommerce
Location: California
How You’ll CREATE: The department oversees the D2C/eCommerce strategy for Interscope Capitol, working closely with production companies, music supervisors, and clearance companies, in addition to UMG label personnel and artists.
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Responsibilities:
- Music Discovery.
- Music Curation.
- Playlisting.
- Data Entry.
Ideal Candidates:
- Knowledge of a variety of styles and eras of UMG repertoire.
- An interest in and knowledge of current films, streaming content, television shows, and video games.
- A genuine love and enthusiasm for music of all genres.
Finance
Location: California
How You’ll CREATE: The Finance department works on budgeting, forecasting, and financial reporting, collaborating with all departments across the business.
Responsibilities:
- Data analysis.
- Working on financial systems.
- Tracking new releases.
- Assist with month-end financial close process and update of forecast reporting as needed.
- Ad hoc analysis around deal or industry trends to assist with forecasting.
Ideal Candidates:
- Strong Excel skills.
- General accounting concept knowledge; understanding of financial statements and reporting.
- Experience working with large data sets.
- Experience in SAP a plus (not required).
Global Administration
Location: California
How You’ll CREATE: Global Administration is responsible for core administration functions - copyright, royalties, income tracking, analytics and compliance. The department works with external clients and internal UMPG affiliate offices around the world and across the rest of the publishing business.
Responsibilities:
- Basic royalty matching and ingestion of data into UMPG core systems.
- Song entry, metadata research and enrichment.
- Registration of new and amended copyrights with different societies, service providers and partners on a global scale.
- Preparation and reconciliation of incoming royalty statements for processing and calculation.
- Royalty reporting, helping to assist with financial reconciliation and sign‐off.
- Analysis of control procedures to ensure UMPG's compliance processes remain effective.
- Assistance with engagement calls across other offices and regions.
- Working with UMPG's client portal and customer service teams globally to resolve client issues.
Global Film & TV Administration
Location: Tennessee
How You’ll CREATE: This team is responsible for Film and TV day-to-day operational items and for assisting studio partners with their various needs.
Responsibilities:
- Global Data Governance - overseeing internal policies, working with metadata and identifiers.
- Data entry.
- Research projects.
- Updates to workflows.
Ideal Candidates:
- Proficiency in Excel or Google Sheets.
- Ability to manage large datasets, use formulas, pivot tables, and basic data analysis.
- Attention to Detail & Data Accuracy.
- Basic Understanding of Entertainment Industry Workflows.
Global Insights & Research
Location: New York
How You’ll CREATE: Collecting and integrating data from multiple real-time sources.
Responsibilities:
- Audience insights & segmentation.
- Dashboards.
- Predictive modeling.
- Marketing campaign effectiveness.
Ideal Candidates:
- Strong proficiency in SQL and database querying.
- Programming in a language like Python or R.
- Experience or strong interest in data architecture and visualization/reporting tools.
Label Operations
Location: Florida
How You’ll CREATE: The intern will aid in various operational tasks throughout the label with an overview on all departments.
Responsibilities:
- Oversee departments.
- Create reports and updates on all areas, notably Marketing, A&R and Finance.
- Attend/participate in label meetings & take notes to review with upper management.
Ideal Candidates:
- Project management skills.
Latin Publishing
Location: Florida
How You’ll CREATE: This office offers exposure to A&R, Copyright/Admin, B.A., and Administrative/Office management.
Responsibilities:
- New Music Friday.
- Update Visual roster for A&R.
- Capstone project; helping copyright/administration.
- General office management tasks.
Ideal Candidates:
- Social media savvy.
- Bilingual (Spanish/English) is a must.
Merch & E-Commerce
Location: Florida
How You’ll CREATE: The Merch & E-Commerce department oversees all merchandise sales, from the creation to execution of campaigns tied to music products & Artists.
Responsibilities:
- Research merchandise trends.
- Look into sourcing quality products.
- Help set up digital campaigns for merch actions.
Music For Advertising
Location: New York
How You’ll CREATE: The Music for Advertising team handles all ad-related sync inquiries for UMPG's catalog.
Responsibilities:
- Various data entry tasks, including contact list updating, song database metadata tagging, tour date tracking, and more.
- Generate artist datasheets.
- Track music chart data on a weekly basis.
- Pick out new releases in the catalogue to share with the team at weekly meetings.
Ideal Candidates:
- Strong data organization / data entry skills.
North America Administration
Location: Tennessee
How You’ll CREATE: The North America Administration team at UMPG encompasses Copyright, Royalties, Client Services, Mechanical Licensing, Income Tracking, and Audit functions.
Responsibilities:
- Preparation and reconciliation of incoming royalty statements for processing and calculation.
- Contract administration assistance along the team's Copyright unit.
- Analytics review and data insights projects in support of income tracking and client support needs.
- Payee data projects as part of the Client Services function.
Studio
Location: Tennessee
How You’ll CREATE: The General Studio Intern will support studio operations in Nashville.
Responsibilities:
- Oversight of studio set-ups prior to sessions.
- Placing and picking up session food and drink orders and running errands as needed.
- Keeping all studios, kitchen and lounge areas clean and organized.
- Keeping the office and studio areas fully stocked, neat and orderly.
°1824 Program
°1824 is UMG’s creative solutions team focused on connecting artists and brands directly to fans through storytelling and experiences. Their offerings include content creation, ideation, PR, A&R, creator partnerships, experiences, and digital marketing.
Requirements:
- At least 1.5 calendar years left enrolled in university.
- Based in the United States.
- Available to work 20-25 hours/week.
(These roles are not internships or seasonal jobs.)
Benefits of a UMG Internship
Participating in a Universal Music Group internship offers numerous benefits, including:
- Hands-on Experience: Gain practical experience in a specific area of the music industry.
- Networking Opportunities: Connect with industry professionals and build valuable relationships.
- Professional Development: Participate in curated professional development opportunities.
- Exposure to the Music Industry: Gain insights into the inner workings of a major music company.
- Contribution to UMG: Add value to UMG as a company through your work and contributions.
How to Apply
To apply for a Universal Music Group internship, visit the UMG careers website and search for internship opportunities. Be sure to carefully review the eligibility requirements and job descriptions before applying.
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