Natascha Augustin has been promoted to managing director of Warner Chappell Music Germany.
In her new role, Augustin will report to Guy Moot, co-chair and CEO of Warner Chappell Music (WCM), the music publishing arm of Warner Music Group (WMG). Lars Karlsson, who has served as managing director of both WCM Scandinavia and WCM Germany, will now focus on the publisher’s expanding business in the Nordics.
Last year, Augustin and Karlsson invited Headliner to the company’s new Berlin hub for an extensive chat about the new location and the publisher’s prolonged success in the market, particularly in the domestic rap scene. You can read the interview in full here.
Augustin has played a pivotal role in the rise of Germany’s rap and hip-hop scene, helping WCM Germany become the country’s number one domestic publisher for six consecutive years. She will now spend time in, and oversee, WCM’s three German hubs – Berlin, Hamburg and Munich – which are dedicated to tapping into the different cultures and scenes across the country.
She has signed and supported a number of Germany’s top rap stars including 187 Strassenbande, Apache 207, Capital Bra, Farid Bang, Juju, Katja Krasavice, Luciano, Makko, Nimo, Shirin David, Summer Cem and breakthrough star Ayliva. Augustin has also worked with producers such as Juhdee, Miksu Macloud and Sira; producer teams like Plugs, Ghana & Geenaro, and Nilly; as well as pop and dance writers including Felix Jaehn, Kiddo, M22, Southstar and Tom Gregory.
Augustin commented: “This appointment feels like an organic development in my career, and part of the exciting changes within Warner Chappell Music. I am so thankful to both Guy and Lars for putting their trust in me, back from when I was first an A&R manager and got to act as our point of contact for the most culture-defining songwriters and producers in Germany. They gave me the freedom to expand our publishing activities into the world of hip-hop and rap and supported my collaboration with WM Germany to launch Atlantic Records Germany.
“Now that the label is established, I can fully focus on my new role as MD of WCM Germany. I see myself as an advocate for songwriters and artists – fighting for their rights in a rapidly changing world full of new challenges.”
Moot added: “This a significant day for Warner Chappell Music. Germany is such an important global market, and home to some of the world’s best writers, producers and artists. We’re the number one domestic publisher there thanks to the support that Natascha has given a generation of songwriters under Lars’s expert guidance. It’s great that she now has an opportunity to head up our business in Germany, while Lars can devote more time to driving our ongoing success in the Nordics.”
Karlsson concluded: “I’m so excited for Natascha. We’ve been working towards this moment over recent years, and I’m delighted she’s now stepping up to the plate to run our German business. She has been instrumental in our incredible success in Germany and so her promotion is richly deserved. I’m looking forward to having more time to focus on our continuing expansion across the Nordics, where we’ve revitalised our A&R team and are signing some remarkably talented songwriters.”
Augustin joined the A&R team at WCM Germany in 2010, becoming senior creative director in 2018 and vice president in 2021.