Warner Music Group’s expansion in Southeast Europe has been so rapid and aggressive that it could almost be labeled crazy.
Earlier this year, Warner Music South East Europe (west meixi)roll out Balkan Electronics, an EDM label focusing on artists from the Balkans and Ukraine. A month ago it acquired a minority stake in Slovenian independent record label Nikka.
Following WM SEE’s investment in Serbian brands in 2022 Mascon Records.
(The company is also active in other parts of Eastern Europe, such as acquiring a stake in a Hungarian brand magnetonand a stake in Czech hip-hop label Mike Croftboth in 2023.
Now the company has taken another step towards building a presence in the Balkans by acquiring a minority stake in Croatian independent music company dancing bear.
Under the agreement, Dancing Bear artists will be able to sign to Warner’s global roster and utilize Warner’s services ADA GlobalWarner’s global distribution arm.
The deal also includes an extension of Warner’s licensing agreement 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 Pressyes Warner Chappell Musiclocal representative.
Founded in 1990, Dancing Bear is “one of the oldest and leading record labels in Croatia,” Warner said in a statement released on Friday (June 21).
The company also operates a chain of record stores and an online store that facilitates sales of physical music formats such as vinyl records and CDs.
Dancing Bear has signed some of the most famous artists in the region, including 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 released several records that are considered some of the most important and iconic in the history of Croatian and regional music, and their success has helped shape the development of the industry over the past four decades,” Warner said.
Some of these artists, such as The Bambi Molesters and The Strange, as well as newcomers Bruno Pietri and Pete Spruce, have already established fan bases beyond the Balkans, but Dancing Bear’s biggest act is pop duo Dalmatino, a band based in The band from Split, Croatia, regularly outsells major international artists in their home country and has amassed over 250 million stream.
“This investment from Warner Music is a vote of confidence in the future of Western Balkan music,” said Sylvia Varga, co-founder and managing director of Dancing Bear. “We look forward to working together to promote the music from our existing roster to the wider world and discover the next generation of local talent.”
“I am delighted that we have been able to expand our agreement with Dancing Bear, which has a strong reputation in the region as a key player in the industry. We are already doing joint releases in the EDM space and plan to expand our collaboration in the coming months. Isabella Žižek-PodemskaGeneral Manager of WM SEE.
The Western Balkans music market is small compared to Western Europe, but offers huge opportunities for growth.
Croatia’s gross domestic product grows Annual growth of 3.9% The first quarter of 2024 will become one of the fastest growing quarters in the EU. Household consumption growth 6% By then, the country had seen 14% Salary growth over the past year.global music business
