Warner Music Group’s growth in Southeast Europe has been so fast and aggressive that it might virtually be labeled loopy.
Earlier this yr, Warner Music South East Europe (west meixi)roll out Balkan Electronics, an EDM label specializing in artists from the Balkans and Ukraine. A month in the past it acquired a minority stake in Slovenian unbiased report label Nikka.
Following WM SEE’s funding in Serbian manufacturers in 2022 Mascon Information.
(The corporate can also be lively in different components of Japanese Europe, reminiscent of buying a stake in a Hungarian model magnetonand a stake in Czech hip-hop label Mike Crofteach in 2023.
Now the corporate has taken one other step in the direction of constructing a presence within the Balkans by buying a minority stake in Croatian unbiased music firm dancing bear.
Below the settlement, Dancing Bear artists will be capable to signal to Warner’s international roster and make the most of Warner’s companies ADA InternationalWarner’s international distribution arm.
The deal additionally contains an extension of Warner’s licensing settlement with Dancing Bear, which covers Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and North Macedonia.
Dancing Bear has been Warner’s licensee in Croatia since 1996, with its publishing arm Dancing Bear Presssure Warner Chappell Musicnative consultant.
Based in 1990, Dancing Bear is “one of many oldest and main report labels in Croatia,” Warner stated in an announcement launched on Friday (June 21).
The corporate additionally operates a sequence of report shops and a web based retailer that facilitates gross sales of bodily music codecs reminiscent of vinyl data and CDs.
Dancing Bear has signed a number of the most well-known artists within the area, together with Dalmatino, Dino Dvornik, Daleka Obala, Darko Rundek, Hladno Pivo, Kojoti, Kawasaki 3P, Zdenka Kovačiček, Goribor, Vlado Kalember & Srebrna Krila, Alen Vitavić, Ibrica, Gustafi, Bambi Molesters and Baba Yaga.
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“These artists have launched a number of data which can be thought-about a number of the most essential and iconic within the historical past of Croatian and regional music, and their success has helped form the event of the business over the previous 4 a long time,” Warner stated.
A few of these artists, reminiscent of The Bambi Molesters and The Unusual, in addition to newcomers Bruno Pietri and Pete Spruce, have already established fan bases past the Balkans, however Dancing Bear’s largest act is pop duo Dalmatino, a band primarily based in The band from Cut up, Croatia, usually outsells main worldwide artists of their house nation and has amassed over 250 million stream.
“This funding from Warner Music is a vote of confidence in the way forward for Western Balkan music,” stated Sylvia Varga, co-founder and managing director of Dancing Bear. “We stay up for working collectively to advertise the music from our current roster to the broader world and uncover the following technology of native expertise.”
“I’m delighted that now we have been capable of increase our settlement with Dancing Bear, which has a powerful popularity within the area as a key participant within the business. We’re already doing joint releases within the EDM area and plan to increase our collaboration within the coming months. Isabella Žižek-PodemskaNormal Supervisor of WM SEE.
The Western Balkans music market is small in comparison with Western Europe, however affords large alternatives for development.
Croatia’s gross home product grows Annual development of three.9% The primary quarter of 2024 will turn out to be one of many quickest rising quarters within the EU. Family consumption development 6% By then, the nation had seen 14% Wage development over the previous yr.international music enterprise
