Job Description
Music is Universal
It’s the passionate and dedicated team at Universal Music who help make us the world’s leading music company. From A&R to finance, legal to digital, sales to marketing, Universal Music is the place to grow and develop your career within a truly commercial and innovative business that leads in everything it does.
Everyone is welcome to apply for our roles, and we are determined to ensure that no applicant or employee receives less favourable treatment because of gender, race, disability, sexual orientation, religion, belief, age, marital status, background, pregnancy, or caring responsibilities. We also recognise the importance of diversity of thought within our teams and are fully committed to embracing the talents of people with autism, dyslexia, ADHD, and other forms of neurocognitive variation.
We will always seek to make appropriate adjustments to recruitment, workplaces, and work processes to be fully inclusive to people with different needs and working styles. If you need us to make any reasonable adjustments for you from application onwards, including alternatives to the online form or to disclose a neurocognitive condition, please email UniversalMusicCareers@umusic.com.
Apple Corps Ltd
Location: Apple Corps Head Office, Ovington Square, London
Working pattern: 4 to 5 days per week expected in the office
About the opportunity
Apple Corps Ltd. was founded in 1968 to oversee The Beatles’ creative and business interests. It initially served as the new outlet for The Beatles’ own recordings as well as the music of a wide-ranging roster of artists, all brought to the label personally by the band (individually and/or collectively). Apple Corps’ mission celebrates artistry in an inclusive, creative environment. Since its inception, the company has encompassed music, publishing, merchandise, electronic and film enterprises.
For almost six decades, Apple Corps Ltd. has helped to bring The Beatles music to billions of fans in pioneering, creative manners, decade after decade.
Apple Corps and Universal Music Group UK are coming together to build a dedicated creative team focused on shaping the next chapter of Beatles product, ecommerce, retail and customer experience.
This is a rare opportunity to work at the intersection of music, culture, creativity, commerce and fan experience. The Beatles remain one of the most important and influential creative forces in the world, with a legacy that continues to inspire fans across generations.
This team will create exceptional products, experiences and customer journeys for Beatles fans globally. From product design and packaging to retail, ecommerce, trading and fan engagement, every touchpoint must reflect the creativity, quality and cultural significance associated with The Beatles.
These roles are employed by Apple Corps Ltd. The Universal Music Group UK Talent Acquisition team will manage the recruitment process in collaboration with Apple Corps and the wider UMG team. When you apply, you will be redirected to the Universal Music Group careers portal, where you will be required to submit your application through Workday.
Role purpose
The Senior Creative Product Lead will be responsible for shaping and driving the creative vision, product direction and overall aesthetic development of Beatles product ranges.
This role will ensure that all creative output aligns with the Apple Corps brand identity, commercial strategy, customer expectations and the enduring legacy of The Beatles.
This is a senior creative leadership role, combining product strategy, design leadership, brand guardianship and commercial awareness. The role will lead the development of compelling, high-quality product ranges that honour The Beatles’ legacy while finding new and innovative ways to connect with fans around the world.
Key responsibilities
Creative vision and direction
Define and lead the overall creative vision for product ranges.
Ensure strong brand storytelling and visual consistency across all products and creative outputs.
Create product concepts that reflect the quality, creativity and cultural significance associated with The Beatles.
Product strategy development
Develop product strategies aligned with brand positioning, customer demand and commercial objectives.
Identify opportunities to build compelling product ranges around key Beatles moments, releases, campaigns and fan experiences.
Balance creative ambition with customer insight, operational feasibility and commercial priorities.
Range planning and assortment strategy
Oversee the structure of product ranges across hero products, core lines, limited editions and seasonal collections.
Ensure ranges feel cohesive, relevant and commercially considered.
Build long-term product thinking that supports brand growth and fan engagement.
Concept creation and innovation
Generate new product concepts, collaborations and creative ideas.
Expand the Beatles product universe in a thoughtful, authentic and commercially compelling way.
Bring fresh creative thinking to product, packaging, ecommerce and retail moments.
Design leadership
Lead and mentor designers, guiding creative development from concept through to final production.
Set clear creative standards and support high-quality execution across the team.
Run effective creative reviews and provide constructive direction and feedback.
Brand guardianship
Ensure all products and creative outputs follow brand guidelines, tone of voice and visual identity.
Protect the legacy, quality and integrity of The Beatles across all product touchpoints.
Maintain high standards of care, approval management and creative control.
Cross-functional collaboration
Work closely with merchandising, production, marketing, retail, ecommerce, licensing and commercial teams.
Align creative direction with trading plans, campaign activity and customer experience goals.
Build strong working relationships across Apple Corps, UMG and external partners.
Product development oversight
Oversee the full product development process, including:
Briefing
Sampling
Prototyping
Materials selection
Manufacturing feasibility
Quality review
Production sign-off
Trend and cultural insight
Monitor fashion, retail, music, design and cultural trends.
Translate relevant insight into product opportunities that feel fresh while remaining authentic to The Beatles.
Use cultural awareness to keep product ranges relevant, desirable and distinctive.
Licensing and intellectual property integration
Translate licensed intellectual property into compelling product collections.
Ensure all products respect brand, licensing and approval requirements.
Work with internal and external stakeholders to manage approvals effectively.
Commercial performance review
Analyse product sales, customer feedback and market performance.
Use insight to guide future range planning and product decisions.
Support post-launch reviews and continuous improvement.
Launch and campaign coordination
Align product launches with:
Marketing campaigns
Retail activations
Ecommerce plans
Release moments
Fan engagement activity
Quality and design standards
Maintain high standards across:
Product quality
Materials
Packaging
Finish
Sustainability considerations
Overall presentation
Supplier and manufacturing collaboration
Work with suppliers and manufacturing partners to ensure designs are delivered on time, within budget and to specification.
Challenge constructively where needed to protect quality, timelines and creative intent.
Key skills and experience
Creative and product craft
Proven ability to set and articulate a compelling creative vision.
Ability to translate creative direction into cohesive product ranges.
Strong product storytelling skills across product, packaging, print and digital assets.
Excellent eye for brand identity, detail and visual consistency.
End-to-end product development expertise, from briefing through to production sign-off.
Strong understanding of materials, sampling, prototyping and production feasibility.
Ability to connect fashion, retail, music and cultural trends to product opportunities.
Commercial and data-led decision making
Comfortable using performance data and customer insight to guide product decisions.
Able to use sales, customer feedback and market data to inform range architecture and product optimisation.
Confident working with KPIs, performance readouts and measure-and-learn approaches.
Able to communicate commercial impact and next steps clearly to stakeholders.
Leadership and collaboration
Experience inspiring and developing designers.
Ability to set clear creative standards and coach others effectively.
Strong stakeholder management across merchandising, marketing, retail, ecommerce, licensing and production.
Able to align creative ambition with commercial and operational reality.
Confident working with suppliers and manufacturers to protect quality, budget and timelines.
Systems, tools and ways of working
Confident using modern design tools such as Adobe Creative Cloud and Figma.
Comfortable working with digital asset management systems, creative automation workflows and content management platforms.
Highly organised, structured and comfortable managing multiple workstreams.
Experience requirements
Significant experience in product, brand or design within consumer, retail, lifestyle, fashion, entertainment or licensed product environments.
Experience leading a design function, category or creative product area.
Demonstrable track record of building and launching integrated product ranges.
Hands-on experience taking products from concept through to production at scale.
Experience across packaging, product quality, materials and manufacturing processes.
Experience translating licensed intellectual property into commercially successful collections.
Strong approval management experience.
Cross-functional leadership experience across merchandising, ecommerce, retail, marketing and production.
Data-informed approach to creative decision making.
Experience using performance insights and post-launch reviews to improve future ranges.
Desirable experience
Experience designing for multi-brand portfolios, global fan communities or retail networks.
Knowledge of sustainability standards across materials, packaging and supplier choices.
Degree or equivalent experience in product design, industrial design, graphic design, fashion design or a related discipline.
Strong portfolio showcasing end-to-end range leadership, product storytelling, brand guardianship and commercial delivery.
Just So You Know…
The company presents this job description as a guide to the major areas and duties for which the jobholder is accountable. However, the business operates in an environment that demands change and the jobholder's specific responsibilities and activities will vary and develop. Therefore, the job description should be seen as indicative and not as a permanent, definitive, and exhaustive statement.
Job Category:
Creative, Design & Production
We are UMG, the Universal Music Group.
We are the world’s leading music company.
In everything we do, we are committed to artistry, innovation and entrepreneurship.
We own and operate a broad array of businesses engaged in recorded music, music publishing, merchandising, and audiovisual content in more than 60 countries.
We identify and develop recording artists and songwriters, and we produce, distribute and promote the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful music to delight and entertain fans around the world.
Our vast catalog of recordings and songs stretches back over a century and comprises the largest, most diverse and culturally rich collection of music ever assembled.
As digital technology refashions the world, our unmatched commitment to lead in developing new services, platforms and business models for the delivery of music and related content empowers innovators and allows new commercial and artistic opportunities to flourish.
Knowing that music, a powerful force for good in the world, is unique in its ability to inspire people and bring them together, we work with our artists and employees to serve our communities.
We are the home for music’s greatest artists, innovators and entrepreneurs.
Together, we are UMG, the Universal Music Group.