• by Sara Guaglione , July 8, 2016

Fusion Media Group (FMG), Univision’s recently created division for the cable TV network’s digital assets, has launched a new English-language music vertical called TrackRecord.

The vertical covers stories “at the intersection of music, identity and issues of social justice,” according to a statement.

In April, Univision bought out Disney’s stake in their joint digital media venture, Fusion, and created FMG, Univision’s first English-language department.

FMG oversees a collection of brands targeting a young audience, including Fusion.net, TheOnion, Univision Music, Clickhole, the Root and a few other Web sites.

TrackRecord is a digital project overseen by Univision’s new Music division.

TrackRecord will publish daily news stories, in-depth features, profiles of diverse artists, video series, events and documentary projects. The publication aims to be “socially conscious” and “cross-demographic” in its take on music, according to a statement.

Jeff Ihaza will serve as managing editor of the new vertical. Ihaza was previously a host for Vice’s cable news channel Viceland and a contributor to magazines like Fader, GQ and Gawker. Jordi Oliveres, senior director of music at Univision, will oversee the vertical.

“TrackRecord will focus on how ... music can serve as a tool for breaking down barriers,” stated Ihaza. “Music, by virtue of its performers, is political. With the continued violence enacted on communities of color by police, hip-hop and R&B artists have once again become increasingly vocal about racial inequality.”

To hype up its launch, TrackRecord and Fusion hosted a free hip-hop concert in April in Albany, New York to raise awareness about solitary confinement, called "HipHop 4 Human Rights."

According to an internal Fusion email from Oliveres, some examples of what’s in the pipeline for TrackRecord include a 360-video tour of an iconic New York record store, a video series on how music affects the brain and a long­-form feature on how Berlin’s dance music scene is fighting the global refugee crisis.

Many cable TV companies are expanding their digital presence to reach more advertisers. Late last year, Univision bought satirical site The Onion for $27 million and, according to Recode, is rumored to be a potential bidder in Gawker’s bankruptcy auction this summer.