Coca-Cola and UMG Rewrite the Rules of Music and Brand Collaboration
In a bold move that reimagines the relationship between brands and the music industry, Coca-Cola and Universal Music Group (UMG) unveiled Real Thing Records (RTR), a new global imprint launched as a 50-50 joint venture. Far from a marketing stunt, the label represents a long-term commitment to artist development and cultural relevance, with both companies aiming to co-create rather than simply sponsor music culture.
The announcement was made during a Brand Innovators panel at Cannes Lions featuring Joshua Burke, Global Head of Music & Culture Marketing at The Coca-Cola Company; Ali Grace Marquart, SVP of Strategic Partnerships & Brand Ventures at Universal Music Group; and Max Olay, the label’s first signed artist. The panel was moderated by Michele Anthony, EVP at UMG.
“When I started working in music and brands, it was one-dimensional—licensing a song, slapping a logo on a festival,” said Burke. “Now, it’s about having a valuable relationship with fandom. RTR lets us sponsor and participate in culture. That evolution was necessary.”
RTR, which will operate internationally under UMG’s umbrella, is designed to identify, sign, and develop artists across genres and geographies. The first signing, Max Allais, hails from New Zealand and now lives in Nice, France. His career will be developed in collaboration with Universal Music Germany, exemplifying the label’s multi-market strategy.
“This is not a vanity project or a one-off campaign,” said Marquart. “This is a real thing, and that has been our North Star throughout. It’s about long-term investment in artistry, territory by territory, artist by artist.”
For communicators, RTR offers a case study in evolving from transactional marketing to authentic co-creation. The model centers on a flywheel strategy, leveraging Coca-Cola’s global marketing reach and UMG’s industry expertise to build sustainable artist-fan relationships through digital, social, live events, and branded content.
“We’re applying the same operating system used in campaign flywheels to music,” said Burke. “The ‘hardware’ is the artist, and we wrap around them with everything from music strategy to customer experience to create global resonance.”
For Olay, the value was in the people and the vision. “I met Josh and Natalie from Coke, and they just felt right,” he said. “I’m here because they’re good people who care about music and connection.”
The conversation repeatedly returned to the importance of superfans—deeply engaged followers who carry the cultural message farther than any campaign could.
“Cultural relevance can’t be manufactured,” said Marquart. “Artists already know how to connect authentically. Our job is to help amplify that—to bring them closer to their fans and turn Coca-Cola consumers into new ones.”
What Communicators Can Learn
Real Thing Records represents a blueprint for meaningful brand partnerships rooted in shared purpose, cultural credibility, and sustained investment. The collaboration underscores a fundamental shift for communicators: moving from borrowed relevance to built relevance through co-creation, authentic storytelling, and long-term community engagement.
“We need to take big swings,” Burke concluded. “Real Thing Records is a serious—and seriously fun—mission to move the music industry and our brands forward.”
