Warner Music GroupIts enlargement in Southeast Europe is so quick and aggressive that it could nearly 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, there was Acquiring a minority stake Slovenian unbiased label Nikka.
Following WM SEE 2022 invest Serbian label Mascon Data.
(The corporate can be lively in different components of Japanese Europe, akin to its Acquisition of equity hungary label magnetonand shares on czech hip hop file label Mike Crofteach in 2023.
Now the corporate has taken one other step in direction of constructing a presence within the Balkans by buying a minority stake in Croatian unbiased music firm dancing bear.
Underneath the settlement, Dancing Bear artists will have the ability to signal to Warner’s international roster and make the most of Warner’s companies ADA WorldWarner’s international distribution arm.
The deal additionally consists of 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 file labels in Croatia,” Warner mentioned in a press release launched on Friday (June 21).
The corporate additionally operates a series of file shops and a Online mallwhich promotes gross sales of bodily music codecs akin to vinyl information and CDs.
Dancing Bear has signed a few 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 information which might be thought of a few of the most necessary and iconic within the historical past of Croatian and regional music, and their success has helped form the event of the trade over the previous 4 many years,” Warner mentioned.
A few of these artists, akin to 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 greatest act is pop duo Dalmatino, a band based mostly in The band from Cut up, Croatia, repeatedly 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,” mentioned 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 era of native expertise.”
“I’m delighted that we now have been in a position to develop our settlement with Dancing Bear, which has a robust popularity within the area as a key participant within the trade. We’re already doing joint releases within the EDM house and plan to develop 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 gives large alternatives for progress.
Croatia’s gross home product grew up in Annual growth of 3.9% The primary quarter of 2024 will grow to be one of many quickest rising quarters within the EU. Family consumption progress 6% By then, the nation had seen 14% salary growth up to now yr.international music enterprise
