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Universal Music Group‘s hospitality division is making a push into the beach club business, announcing a joint venture with IMI Group, the private hospitality and lifestyle investment group behind O Beach.
The latest move comes as Universal Music recently expanded its global portfolio of brick-and-mortar retail spaces with the launch of two new UMusic Shop locations in New York and London in December 2025, dedicated “to reimagining the fan experience.”
In 2023, UMG launched its flagship store in Tokyo’s Harajuku district, followed by its second physical retail location globally in July 2025 with the UMusic Shop inside its own UMusic Hotel in Madrid.
Now, UMG announced the launch of a new entity called UMusic Beach Clubs & Lifestyle, a joint venture between its hospitality arm UMusic Hospitality & Lifestyle and IMI Group. IMI has a decade-long experience operating O Beach, a daytime venue brand with flagship locations in Ibiza and Dubai.
Under the deal, both existing O Beach properties will fold into the joint venture’s founding portfolio and continue operating under their current branding.
UMusic and IMI said they plan to develop “a new five-star music-led beach club concept for future projects across the Americas, Europe, and the Middle East. The companies are still negotiating the first location under the new partnership.
The joint venture will embed artist collaborations, live showcases, digital integrations, and what both companies describe as “curated pop-up moments” into each location, according to the announcement on March 11.
The companies said expansion will be selective and that O Beach’s existing operational leadership team will move into the joint venture, which is intended to provide consistency as the platform enters new markets.
Robert Lavia, CEO of UMusic Hospitality & Lifestyle, said: “This is about creating spaces where music doesn’t just soundtrack the experience, but shapes it. Travel, hospitality, and music have always been deeply linked. UMusic Beach Clubs & Lifestyle allows us to bring those elements together in a way that feels natural, global, and culturally relevant.”
“Travel, hospitality, and music have always been deeply linked. UMusic Beach Clubs & Lifestyle allows us to bring those elements together in a way that feels natural, global, and culturally relevant.”
Robert Lavia, UMusic Hospitality & Lifestyle
Maxi Johal, Chairman of IMI Group, said: “O Beach has always been about a feeling — about how a place makes you want to stay, connect and return. This joint venture gives us the opportunity to take that feeling to new destinations around the world, while staying true to the DNA that has defined O Beach from the very beginning.”
The timing comes amid increasing global demand for experiences that seamlessly blend music, travel, and lifestyle, according to the companies.
UMG had earlier outlined expansion plans for additional UMusic Hotels across Europe, the US and Latin America.
“O Beach has always been about a feeling — about how a place makes you want to stay, connect and return. This joint venture gives us the opportunity to take that feeling to new destinations around the world, while staying true to the DNA that has defined O Beach from the very beginning.”
Maxi Johal, IMI Group
Originally, UMG announced in 2020 that Atlanta, Georgia; Biloxi, Mississippi; and Orlando, Florida would house the first three locations through a previously announced joint venture with entertainment investment group Dakia U-Ventures. Madrid ultimately became the debut property instead.
UMG launched the UMusic Hotels brand in October 2020, at a time when the global hospitality industry was still struggling to recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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