Executive Action: Warner Music Brazil
• Warner Music Brazil announced a series of executive changes as the company looks to grow its presence in the world’s ninth largest recorded music market.
Leila Oliveira, President of Warner Music Brazil, has made two strategic hires to strengthen her leadership team — Tatiana Cantinho joins as General Manager, and Mariana Frensel is named as Director of Marketing. Both will be based in the company’s Rio de Janeiro HQ.
Cantinho has more than 20 years of industry experience, having previously worked in regional roles at Sony Music, before moving to leading independent label Som Livre, and then setting up her own music company, Stamina Musical in 2022. The move is a homecoming for Frensel, who previously served as International Label Manager for Warner Music Brazil from 2011 to 2015. For the past eight years she has worked for online dating giant Match Group, most recently serving as Director of Revenue and Growth, New Verticals.
The company is also reorganizing its A&R and Marketing departments to better serve key domestic genres, focusing on sertanejo, forró, samba, funk and urban music. The A&R team will continue to be led by A&R Director Marcos Kilzer, who will work closely with Cantinho. A new Creative Services team will be headed by Thiago Abreu, reporting directly to Leila Oliveira.
Oliveira commented, “This is a key moment for Warner Music Brazil. 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 super-serve artists better than ever and help all types of Brazilian talent connect with fans here and around the world.”
Cantinho said, “Warner Music Brazil is reinventing the role of the record company in our rapidly changing industry. We need to be more nimble than ever when it comes to connecting artists with fans and building a wave of support for our talent that can be turned into a sustainable career. Music can travel further and faster than ever before and we want to help artists from different backgrounds take their place center stage.”
Frensel remarked, “I’m super pleased to be returning to Warner Music at this key moment in its development. Leila has a vision for how a modern music company should evolve and the importance of artist narratives is at the heart of it. I want to bring my experience to bear as our new genre-focused teams get to work supporting Brazil’s most vibrant talent.”
Alejandro Duque, President of Warner Music Latin America, added, “As we elevate our regional approach to be closer to our global leadership, expanding our presence in Brazil, the world’s ninth largest music market, is crucial to the company’s growth. We’ve always had a strong presence in the country, but we know we need to do more to support its diverse musical genres. Leila’s game-changing plan will see us laser-focused on key genres across this huge music market and I’m excited for the next chapter in Warner Music Brazil’s development.”
Warner Music Brazil is home to a wide range of artists including IZA, Pedro Sampaio, Ferrugem, MC Hariel, MC Ryan SP, Kayblack, MC IG, MC Don Juan, Azzy, Marvvila, Thiago Freitas, US Agroboy, João Bosco & Vinícius, and Clayton & Romario.
