Mateusz Smółka named Managing Director of Warner Music Eastern Europe
Warner Music Group has appointed Mateusz Smółka as Managing Director of Warner Music Eastern Europe, taking up the newly created role from 7 September. Based in Warsaw, he will report to Simon Robson, President of EMEA at Warner Music, and will oversee operations across Poland, the Czech Republic, South Eastern Europe and Ukraine, with responsibility for talent development, distribution and mergers and acquisitions. The appointment reflects Warner Music's broader push to build scale and market share in the region while supporting local music scenes.
Smółka joins from Spotify, where he spent eight years leading editorial and artist and label partnership teams across ten Eastern European markets, and brings more than two decades of experience in music, media and technology, having started as a journalist. The move follows a series of Warner Music acquisitions across Central and Eastern Europe, including stakes in Slovenia's NIKA, Hungary's Magneoton and Serbia's Mascom, investment in Czech label Mike Roft, backing for Polish promoter Big Idea and label Step Records, the 2019 purchase of Slovakia's Forza Music, and the 2015 acquisition of Poland's oldest label, Polskie Nagrania, for €1.9 million.
In short
- Mateusz Smółka becomes Warner Music's new Eastern Europe Managing Director
- Role starts 7 September, based in Warsaw, reporting to Simon Robson
- Follows Warner Music's string of recent Eastern European acquisitions
Explained simply
Warner Music Group is one of the world’s major music companies. It works with artists and labels to release and distribute recordings, and has regional teams that manage these activities in different parts of the world.
Eastern Europe includes varied national music markets, each with its own artists, labels and audiences. Warner Music has expanded its presence there through investments and acquisitions, including in Poland, Hungary, Serbia, Slovenia and Slovakia.
The role covers several countries, including Poland, the Czech Republic, parts of South Eastern Europe and Ukraine. Its remit spans developing artists, distributing music and considering business deals, linking Warner Music’s regional growth with the music scenes in those markets.
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