Sony Music Germany has announced a shake-up of its frontline label business in the market through what it calls “a genre and team resource consolidation”.
As part of the move, the team at the company’s local hip-hop labelGold League will be merged with the team at RCA Records Germany, and will now report to Brook Demissie, who is being promoted to Vice President of RCA and Gold League.
Meanwhile, dance label Nitron is moving to Epic, with Fiete Klatt, Vice President Epic and Nitron, responsible for the teams and repertoire of both labels. Sony Music says that this consolidation “leads to a strategic bundling of expertise in the labels’ respective music genres”.
As part of this announcement, the legendary Hansa Records is being relaunched as a frontline label in the market to “further strengthen the mainstream pop segment” at Sony Music Germany.
Hansa Records was founded in the 1960s and based in West Berlin. The company’s most successful act commercially was the West German-based band Boney M.
Sony Music notes that Hansa “shaped the pop and dance landscape worldwide in the 1970s-1990s” with iconic artists such as Modern Talking and Boney M and was “considered one of the most successful labels of its time”.
Markus Hartmann, Vice President Ariola and Hansa Records, will continue to lead the Ariola label but now also be in charge of Hansa.
According to Sony, Hartmann and his team are tasked with expanding the “legendary Hansa repertoire”, with new artists and new music from international acts such as Matt Simons and Irish band Picture This, as well as local stars such as Revelle, Joel Brandenstein, Eisbrecher, Peter Maffay or Mathias Reim.
Additionally, Sony Music Germany has announced a leadership change at its catalog division. Thorsten Sack, who is handing over the management of Nitron to Fiete Klatt, will take over the management of the Catalog Division with immediate effect.
Clemens Fiedler, who has led the Sony Music Catalog in Germany for over eight years, in dual leadership with Julia Nolte for the last two years, will retire in 2024. Clemens Fiedler started his career in the catalog sector in 2002.
Sony Music notes that under his leadership “the valuable catalogs of stars such as Udo Jürgens, Peter Maffay, Boney M, Andrea Berg, Roland Kaiser and Wolfgang Petry, Mariah Carey and Wham! [were] cared for”.
Thorsten Sack reports in his new role in the catalog division to André Mühlhausen, SVP Commercial Division GSA.
“Our frontline business has grown very well in recent years. By consolidating our team resources and expertise, we want to become even more effective and achieve greater impact.”
Patrick Mushatsi-Kareba, Sony Music Entertainment GSA
Patrick Mushatsi-Kareba, CEO Sony Music Entertainment GSA: “Our frontline business has grown very well in recent years. By consolidating our team resources and expertise, we want to become even more effective and achieve greater impact.
“With Hansa Records, 16 labels now operate under the umbrella of Sony Music, which will successfully accompany artists on their path. My special thanks go to Clemens Fiedler for the very successful management of the catalog business, and I wish him only the best for his future.
“Congratulations to Brook Demissie, Markus Hartmann, Fiete Klatt and Thorsten Sack on their expanded areas of responsibility.”
“I would like to thank Clemens Fiedler for his commitment and his incredible passion for the catalog area.”
André Mühlhausen, Sony Music GSA
André Mühlhausen, SVP Commercial Division GSA: “I would like to thank Clemens Fiedler for his commitment and his incredible passion for the catalog area.
“Together with his great team, he has achieved countless successes at both national and international levels. His life motto “Never give up. Never!” is noticeable to him every day. Dear Clemens, I wish you all the best for your future.
“I am very pleased that we can fill this position from our own ranks with Thorsten Sack. Congratulations and good luck.”Music Business Worldwide
