Trapp Named Pres., E-Commerce At WEA
• WEA, the Label and Artist Services division of Warner Music Group (WMG), announced that Ernst Trapp, CEO of EMP, one of Europe’s leading specialty music and entertainment merchandise e-tailers has been promoted to President, Global E-Commerce & Retail. Trapp will continue to oversee operations at EMP as CEO, while now also leading WEA’s global e-commerce efforts, including direct-to-consumer sales and artist webstores. Trapp will be based in Lingen, Germany and report directly to WEA President Maria Weaver.
It was also announced that Scott Cherkin will move into the newly created role of SVP, Audience Strategy overseeing WEA’s Global Audience Engagement & Insights. Weaver remarked, “It’s incredibly impressive the e-tailer powerhouse that Ernst has built EMP into, and there’s no one better suited for this role at WEA. He knows how important successful direct-to-consumer initiatives are in strengthening an artist’s brand and increasing fan loyalty, and with him at the helm we’ll be able to unify our global approach to better serve both the artists and the fans. With Scott rounding out the leadership team, working across all divisions to make sure we’re truly understanding and serving our audience, WEA is poised to super-serve the artist/fan relationship.”
Trapp commented, “It’s been a pleasure to be a part of the WMG family for the past four years through EMP, and I’m happy to now have the opportunity to work even closer with the team as we put our focus into our e-commerce efforts. In today’s rapidly advancing digital world the opportunities to connects fans and artists are endless and I look forward to tapping into all of them. I’m grateful for this opportunity and also want to thank the EMP team for all of their support and hard work.”
Trapp has served as CEO of EMP since 2013. In 2018, WMG acquired the company, with EMP remaining a stand-alone direct-to-fan unit headed by Trapp and CFO Jan Fischer. Prior to joining EMP, Trapp held leadership positions in the fields of e-commerce and marketing at Amazon, Holtzbrinck Publishing Group, KPMG, and leading German insurance group, ERGO Group AG.
