How Tommy Boone turned persistence into a career at Universal Music Group
Tommy Boone blends creativity with analytics through leading teams in royalties, copyright and automation, while proving that persistence and adaptability can turn any path into a music industry success.
Bella Moyers-Chavez, BSJ '26 | March 3, 2026
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Tommy Boone鈥檚, BSC 鈥06, journey into the music industry didn鈥檛 start in Los Angeles or Nashville. It began in Columbus. From the start, he sought out ways to combine his passion for music with hands-on experience. He co-founded an online magazine, The Cypher Columbus, with a fellow alum, gaining real-world experience in journalism and promotion. While the project did well, it wasn鈥檛 enough to pay the bills, so Boone spent several years working in office jobs before a transfer moved him to Tucson, Arizona.
Even then, Boone鈥檚 determination didn鈥檛 waver. He took eight-hour round trips to Los Angeles for interviews. The effort eventually opened the door to a position at , where he now serves as Associate Director of Royalties and Copyright.
Reflecting on the early stages of his career, Boone said, 鈥淲hen I first graduated, I moved back to Columbus鈥 there鈥檚 not a lot of music industry jobs there, so I tried to develop my own.鈥
His story shows that breaking into the music industry often requires creativity, persistence, and the willingness to create opportunities where none exist.
Innovating behind the scenes
In his current role, Boone oversees the Vendor Management and Special Projects teams, ensuring that artists and songwriters are paid accurately while implementing automation tools, which he calls 鈥渧irtual robots,鈥 to streamline business processes. He combines financial and data analysis, process automation and project management to solve complex industry challenges, blending technical expertise with a creative understanding of the music business.
Boone credits his college experience with giving him an early foundation for this work. As communications executive for the Hip Hop Congress, and as host of student-run radio shows 鈥淢ic Club鈥 and 鈥淏eat Oracle,鈥 he learned event planning, networking, and organizational skills that continue to serve him today. He also DJed on campus, which helped him understand the artist side of music, even though he realized his strengths were in analytics and operations rather than producing music.
He emphasizes the importance of moving to the heart of the industry and staying ahead of technological changes.
鈥淚n my industry, things are moving much, much more towards automation,鈥 Boone said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very important鈥 to learn automation, coding languages like data analysis, expressions, or SQL or Visual Basic.鈥
Boone鈥檚 path shows that persistence, curiosity, and adaptability are just as essential as passion for music itself, particularly in behind-the-scenes roles that keep the industry running.
