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Business News Deals Labels & Publishers
Warner buys Slovakian music firm, acquires catalogue of old Czechoslovakian state-run label
By Chris Cooke | Published on Friday 5 July 2019
Warner Music has bought itself the Slovakian record company Forza Music, which has repped the mini-major’s catalogue in the country for some time.
The deal also covers the catalogue of OPUS, which was previously a state-run label in what was then Czechoslovakia. OPUS was behind the vast majority of record releases in what is now Slovakia between the 1960s and the 1990s. Following its purchase of Forza, Warner plans to relaunch the OPUS brand as a frontline label run by Julius Kincek, one of Slovakia’s best-known record producers.
Warner’s MD in the Czech Republic, Vladimir Kočandrle, confirmed the deal, saying: “I’m delighted that we’re able to bring Forza Music into the Warner family and relaunch the legendary OPUS brand. It’s fantastic that the hugely respected Julius Kincek will lead OPUS as we write the next chapter of the label’s story”.
For his part, Kincek adds: “I’m very excited about this opportunity to work with one of the world’s biggest music companies. It’s the first time I’ve been involved in such a deal and I’m full of expectations about what we can achieve together”.
Warner’s EVP for Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, Alfonso Perez-Soto, says the new deal cements his company’s link with Slovakia, and is “just the latest step in our strategy of expanding Warner Music’s footprint in emerging markets around the world”.
