Tatiana Cantinho, who’s joined Warner Music Brazil as general manager. Photo Credit: WMG
After kicking off 2024 by opening a “dynamic and inviting” Rio de Janeiro headquarters, Warner Music Brazil has unveiled a major restructuring initiative.
Warner Music reached out with word of the new executive structure, designed to “turbocharge” the Brazilian division’s presence across “diverse domestic genres.”
Said genres are proving increasingly lucrative against the backdrop of the South American nation’s quick-expanding recorded music market, which was deemed the ninth largest in the world last year and remains the target of aggressive antipiracy campaigns.
Keeping the focus on the revamped Warner Music Brazil, president Leila Oliveira has brought on Sony Music (and Som Livre) vet Tatiana Cantinho as GM and enlisted Mariana Frensel (previously with Sony Music, Warner Music itself, and most recently Match Group) to serve as marketing director.
Both the higher-ups are based in the Rio headquarters and will begin in the posts “immediately.” Additionally, Warner Music Brazil is retooling its A&R and marketing operations “to better serve key domestic genres” including but not limited to sertanejo, forró, and samba.
Consequently, existing A&R director Marcos Kilzer is poised to stay aboard and “work closely with Cantinho,” per the business. Plus, a newly formed creative services team will be helmed by Thiago Abreu, who’ll report to Oliveira and aim to support marketing as well as A&R while simultaneously spearheading brand partnerships and live projects.
In a statement, Oliveira touted the reorganization as “a key moment” for her company, which in July invested in Sua Música, the self-described “largest Brazilian music content platform.”
“This is a key moment for Warner Music Brazil,” summed up Oliveira, who’s been part of the executive suite for over a decade. “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,” concluded the Warner Music Brazil president.
At the top level, Warner Music Brazil’s latest changes are significant given the continued industry growth (fueled chiefly by streaming) attributable to the nation of over 215 million. But particularly regarding Warner Music, the pivots have come just weeks after a massive stateside shakeup within the major label’s decidedly important recorded music division.
Lastly, it was only in July that Universal Music moved forward with another round of layoffs, and different executive departures could be indicative of an ongoing reorganization at the leading label.
