Warner SA buys Afrikaans label Coleske

Coleske is owned by Arnold Coleske, Brendon Hargroves and Paulo Azevedo. It is the biggest independent label focusing on Afrikaans repertoire, which accounts for a significant portion of the local music market. Other major players in the Afrikaans market include Inhoud Huis, which has a partnership with Universal Music Group, and Select Musiek, which is owned by Sony Music Entertainment.

Coleske will continue to be run as a standalone business following the acquisition, and the move will help the label gain access to Warner’s global network of artists from other markets.

Coleske specialises in pop music performed in the Afrikaans language, and its roster of artists includes Appel, Bobby van Jaarsveld, Demi Lee Moore, Dewald Wasserfall, Elvis Blue, Karlien van Jaarsveld, Riaan Benade, Riana Nel and Ruhan du Toit, among others. The label also boasts several artists who perform in English and country music, a genre with a strong following in South Africa.

The label has a successful live business that includes its flagship Afrikaans is Groot concerts and TV talent show Die Kontrak, which the company plans to adapt for the English market. These capabilities will be harnessed for Warner Music’s local and international artists, when live events resume in South Africa.

“As an artist myself, I’ve seen the business from both sides,” Arnold Coleske said. “We’ve built an amazing business here in South Africa, and I know that partnering with Warner Music will take it to the next level. Our artists can benefit from its global firepower, while still enjoying the boutique support of the team they know and trust at Coleske.”

Warner Recorded Music president of emerging markets Alfonso Perez-Soto said: “We’re not only catching up with our major competitors, who’ve been active in this genre for many years, we’re overtaking them. We’ll also be harnessing Coleske’s live infrastructure for the benefit of all our local and global stars in South Africa, significantly expanding our artist value proposition in the market.”

The deal is the latest milestone for Warner Music’s expansion in Africa, which includes the opening of its South African affiliate in 2013 and a deal with Nigeria’s Chocolate City in 2019. More recently, the major label partnered with Ziiki Media, Diamond Platnumz and his WCB Wasafi Classic Baby label, and in 2020 made an investment in Africori.