Photo Credit: Warner Music Group
Warner Music Czech Republic has renewed its partnership and invested in local hip-hop label Mike Roft.
Warner Music Czech Republic announces the renewed partnership and investment in leading hip-hop label Mike Roft, seeing Warner Music as the sole distributor of Mike Roft’s roster. Mike Roft’s roster includes Czech music icons Calin, D-Kop, Conspira, KOJO, Indigo, Metyou, Lajfr, and STEIN27.
Founded in 2018, Mike Roft has developed a core roster of six culturally significant and commercially successful artists, a robust merch operation, and a growing presence in live event promotion. Calin, D-Kop, and renowned video director/graphic designer Radim Zboril are shareholders in the company and will continue to lead Mike Roft as an independent label.
“I’m glad that we formed this partnership, and now we can take our collaboration to a whole other level,” says D-Kop.
“Mike Roft has built a culturally significant and respected brand with a roster of artists who are leading the way in hip-hop in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. By partnering with them, we’re tapping into their expertise while giving their artists the opportunity to reach an audience on a global scale,” adds Vladimir Kočandrle, Managing Director of Warner Czech Republic. “We’ve already enjoyed huge recent success with Calin and Viktor Sheen’s ground-breaking album, and I’m looking forward to replicating such results as we move forward.”
“The Eastern European market continues to be a priority for us, and by partnering with Mike Roft, we are putting ourselves in pole position across the Czech Republic and Slovakia,” concludes Alfonso Perez-Soto (pictured), President, Emerging Markets, Recorded Music, WMG. “Not only are we partnering with incredible artists, but we’ll also be able to benefit from Mike Roft’s strong merch infrastructure and live events operations.”
This partnership is the latest for Warner Music in Eastern Europe, which has grown its presence with the appointment of Izabela Ciszek-Poziemska as General Manager of Warner Music South East Europe, the investment in Serbian record label Mascom Records, and Polish promoter Big Idea, the partnership with Poland’s Step Records, the acquisition of Polskie Nagrania and Solvakia’s Opus Records, and the hire of Bartosz Szwoch as CFO of Warner Music Eastern Europe.