Business News Deals Labels & Publishers

Warner Music acquires stake in Hungarian label Magneoton

By Chris Cooke | Published on Friday 23 June 2023

Warner Music has taken a stake in Hungarian record label Magneoton, building on an existing licensing partnership and ramping up the major’s presence in the country.

It’s not the first time Warner has had an ownership interest in Magneoton, which was originally founded by artist László Pásztor and manager István Joós. The major acquired the indie back in 1993 and for the following decade it operated as Warner Music Hungary.

A management buyout in 2004 resulted in Magneoton becoming an independent record company once again. Though it subsequently formed another alliance with Warner in 2010, after which it represented the major’s international catalogue within the Hungarian market.

In more recent years Magneoton has also added management, live and digital divisions to its business. With the latest deal with Warner, it is now working with the major on signing and distributing a new roster of local talent.

Releases under that partnership include the Lotfi Begi and Cecilia Gault collaboration ‘Heartbreak’, which was released earlier this year, and ‘Heaven’ by Stadiumx, Sam Martin and Azahriah, which is out today.

Says Warner Music South East Europe General Manager Izabela Ciszek-Podziemska: “This latest phase in our relationship with Magneoton marks a significant return to Hungary by Warner Music. While Magneoton will continue to act as a licensee for our international repertoire, we’ll now also be working together to discover great Hungarian artists and take their music to the world”.

And Magneoton General Manager Noemi Virag Csontos adds: “Magneoton and Warner Music have a rich history of working together and producing incredible results for our acts. This deal highlights our commitment to breaking Hungarian artists internationally, while giving local fans unparalleled access to music from some of the world’s biggest stars”.