Suggestions
Andy Blair
Music ∞ Data. Committed to driving value while valuing the humans behind data. Your favorite data lawyer's favorite data lawyer.
Andy Blair is no longer the Chief Privacy Officer at Universal Music Group. He is currently the Founder and Managing Director of Reverb Data, a data-focused strategic and legal advisory firm for the music industry.12 Blair spent 9 years as Chief Privacy Officer at Universal Music Group, where he built a global privacy and data risk management program and supported major initiatives in streaming, merchandise, fan data, advertising, royalties, and mergers and acquisitions.1
Blair brings a unique combination of legal, technical, and music industry expertise. He holds a degree in computer science and began his career in technology roles before attending law school and working at a major international law firm.1 His experience at Universal Music Group provided him with a deep understanding of how data is generated, collected, used, and shared throughout the music industry.1
As the founder of Reverb Data, Blair aims to help artist teams, technology companies, labels, and service companies navigate the complex and evolving data ecosystem in the music industry.2 He is considered a widely respected voice on data issues in the music industry.1
Highlights
Ok, so I said I was going dark for August and you'd have to wait to see what I'm working on, but I need to ignore both of those for just a minute.
Why might you ask? Well, I submitted a presentation for SXSW 2025 and community voting is open! Your support would be deeply appreciated.
Cracking the Superfan Data Puzzle: From Pieces to Picture You can vote here: https://lnkd.in/gGidcNvv A repost here or supportive comment on the voting page would also help!
The presentation will look at key structural + legal obstacles holding back superfan initiatives in music. In short, fragmentation and privacy laws are critical problems the industry has not addressed.
As a teaser, the solution is truly putting artists at the center of their fan ecosystem. Doing this, including the dirty work of fixing contracts and privacy, is an essential step to unlocking the full potential of superfan experiences and revenue.
Can't wait to go deep on this in Austin and talk about the road to superfan success. Hope to see you there!
#SWSW #SXSW2025 #artistcentric #fandata #vote #superfans #panelpicker
End of an era!
After almost 9 years, yesterday was my last at Universal Music Group. It was a non-stop ride of challenges, successes, and learning from some of the very best people in the business.
Shout out to my team Rosa Henriquez, Elvira Risbaeva, Vannesha Mae, and Jamie Wand. Your talent, dedication, accomplishments, good humor, and humanity were inspiring and I will dearly miss working with you every day.
Far too many others to name, but thank you nevertheless. Your mentorship, support, and friendship were what kept me sane in a crazy business.
As for what's next, taking a break to enjoy the rest of the Minnesota summer because those opportunities are rare. Then on to something I don't think has been done before but is going to be super cool. More to come so stay tuned!
I'll mostly be ignoring the world for the rest of August but excited to reconnect after Labor Day so give me a shout!
