Warner Music Brazil has announced a series of changes designed to turbocharge its presence across a range of the country’s diverse domestic genres. The moves are a statement of intent as the company looks to grow its presence in the world’s ninth largest recorded music market.
Leila Oliveira, President of Warner Music Brazil, has made two strategic hires to strengthen her leadership team, with Tatiana Cantinho joining as General Manager and Mariana Frensel being named as Director of Marketing. They are both starting their roles immediately and will be based in the company’s Rio de Janeiro headquarters.
Tatiana Cantinho has more than 20 years’ industry experience, having previously worked in regional roles at Sony Music, before moving to leading independent label Som Livre, and then setting up her own music company Stamina Musical in 2022.
Mariana Frensel takes up her role after working at online dating giant Match Group for the last eight years, most recently serving as Director of Revenue and Growth, New Verticals. The move is a homecoming for Frensel, who was International Label Manager for Warner Music Brazil between 2011 and 2015.
At the same time, the company is reorganising its A&R and Marketing departments to better serve key domestic genres, focusing on sertanejo, forró, samba, funk and urban music. The A&R team will continue to be led by Marcos Kilzer in his current role as A&R Director, and he’ll work closely with Cantinho.
A new Creative Services team will be headed by Thiago Abreu, who will report directly to Leila Oliveira. It will support marketing and A&R teams while also working closely on special brand partnership and live music projects.
The moves are the latest changes made by Oliveira since she became the first female label head in Brazil back in 2022. Earlier this year, she worked with colleagues at Warner Chappell Music and ADA Brazil to launch the Warner Music Space, a new company headquarters in the Barra da Tijuca area of Rio de Janeiro which is home to various creative areas including studios, lounges, workstations, an acoustic performance stage, and an event area.
And just last month ADA Brazil and Warner Music Brazil announced an investment in the Sua Música group, which owns the largest Brazilian music platform and the Sua Música digital distributor. The investment partnered ADA Brazil and Warner Music Brazil with Sua Música, enabling the companies to combine their efforts in developing regional artists and songwriters. The deal typified the close working relationship between Warner Music Brazil and ADA, Warner Music Group’s independent distribution and label services arm.
Tatiana Cantinho says: “Warner Music Brazil is reinventing the role of the record company in our rapidly changing industry. We need to be more nimble than ever when it comes to connecting artists with fans and building a wave of support for our talent that can be turned into a sustainable career. Music can travel further and faster than ever before and we want to help artists from different backgrounds take their place centre stage.”
Mariana Frensel adds: “I’m super pleased to be returning to Warner Music at this key moment in its development. Leila has a vision for how a modern music company should evolve and the importance of artist narratives is at the heart of it. I want to bring my experience to bear as our new genre-focused teams get to work supporting Brazil’s most vibrant talent.”
Leila Oliveira comments: “This is a key moment for Warner Music Brazil. The arrival of Tatiana and Mariana strengthens my leadership team and together we’ll rewrite the rules about how the industry operates here. Our new genre-specific teams mean that we’ll be able to superserve artists better than ever and help all types of Brazilian talent connect with fans here and around the world.”
Alejandro Duque, President, Warner Music Latin America, concludes: “As we elevate our regional approach to be closer to our global leadership, expanding our presence in Brazil, the world’s ninth largest music market, is crucial to the company’s growth. We’ve always had a strong presence in the country, but we know we need to do more to support its diverse musical genres. Leila’s game changing plan will see us laser focused on key genres across this huge music market and I’m excited for the next chapter in Warner Music Brazil’s development.”
Warner Music Brazil is home to a wide range of artists including IZA, Pedro Sampaio, Ferrugem, MC Hariel, MC Ryan SP, Kayblack, MC IG, MC Don Juan, Azzy, Marvvila, Thiago Freitas, US Agroboy, João Bosco & Vinícius, and Clayton & Romario.
Brazil is the ninth largest recorded music market in the world, according to the latest IFPI figures, with a market valued at US$573.6 million, and which grew at 13.39% last year. The market is digitally-driven, with 87.1% of industry revenues coming from streaming channels.
