Young Named Pres. Of UMG’s Bravado

• Universal Music Group (UMG) has appointed Matt Young as President of Bravado, the UMG-owned global merchandising company. Young (pictured) brings to Bravado more than 20 years of music industry experience in building brands and artist services, with a focus on merchandising, e-commerce, retail, consumer product licensing, ticketing and customer relationship management (CRM).

Young will be based at Bravado’s New York offices and report to Richelle Parham, President of Global E-Commerce and Business Development, who said, “Matt has the leadership and vision to complement Bravado’s stellar track-record of innovation and success. In his role, Matt will be a critical element of the ecosystem we have built to deliver unparalleled consumer-driven e-commerce, as well as ensure our artists are reaching their fans and new audiences around the world with exciting products and experiences.”

Young joins Bravado after 13 years with Warner Music Group, where he was instrumental in developing consumer engagement, marketing execution and revenue generation for the company’s most prominent recording artists. Before WMG, Young worked for Bandmerch as GM of the New York office, and Head of Retail & A&R, and earlier as VP of Sales at Blue Grape Merchandise. Young got his music industry start as a DJ for Seton Hall University’s WSOU.

“I’m stoked to lead Bravado at this pivotal time and to build on the company’s reputation as the leader in our industry,” Young said. “Bravado is known for creating innovative new opportunities for artists to meaningfully connect with their fans, both directly, on tour and through some of the most prominent retailers in the world. With Richelle and her team, Bravado will work closely with our roster of artists, as well as UMG’s labels, territories and operating companies to take UMG’s direct-to-consumer and merchandise strategy to an even greater level of success.”