Serge Kajirian leads data governance and privacy operations at Universal Music Group, the world's largest music company, where he oversees the most valuable catalog on Earth and the fan relationships tied to hundreds of labels and artists. With more than fifteen years of experience across media and entertainment, including stops at Disney Interactive and Fox Network Group, Serge sits at the exact intersection this show is built around: rights, permissions, fan trust, and AI.

In this episode, Serge unpacks how UMG values not just its recordings but the metadata and fandom information collected over decades. He walks through the concept of ring fencing as a governance tool, why trust functions as the true currency behind data sharing, and how AI is forcing the entire music industry to build new semantic layers of understanding. The conversation wraps with a look back at Serge's path through Disney and Fox before landing in music, plus the advice he'd give his younger self.

Takeaways:

• Treat metadata and fandom information as core business assets, not just a byproduct of streaming, and build governance around them from the start.
• Use ring fencing as a permissioning mechanism so labels and artists can share data safely without exposing it to competitors.
• Establish clear ownership before building stewardship models. Know who owns the data, the music rights, and the marketing rights before deciding how to share any of it.
• Treat trust as the real currency behind data sharing. One broken agreement can cause an entire ecosystem to stop participating.
• Build documented runbooks so both people and AI systems understand the boundaries and rules of engagement.
• Recognize AI as a new type of actor inside your data ecosystem, one that requires its own access controls, fact checking, and semantic layers.
• Give fans and artists real input into how their data and preferences get used instead of assuming default consent.

Quote of the Show:

“Trust is the currency. The data has value if everyone in our ecosystem trusts it." - Serge Kajirian

Links:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/skajirian/
• Website: https://www.umusiccareers.com/

Ways to Tune In:

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• YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKEpXLeSlqYM&si=7O2mjjP5IWM8D6ib 

The AI era is rewriting the rules of data, trust, and business growth. That's exactly why we're excited to announce the launch of the New Data Economy podcast!.

In every episode, hosts Mike Farrell, Co-Founder and CTO of Transcend, and Kate Parker, President of Transcend, sit down with the operators, innovators, and executives living at the intersection of AI, data, and customer trust. 

They’ll dive into conversations with the people who are making real decisions about how to build with AI responsibly, how to earn and keep customer trust, and what it means to compete in an economy where data is the primary resource and permission is the primary constraint.

New episodes drop every other Wednesday. Visit newdataeconomy.com and hear from the voices leading the future of data decisions.