Warner Music Group (WMG) has strengthened its Corporate Development team, with Alfonso Perez-Soto named EVP, Corporate Development, focusing on Recorded Music, and Michael LoBiondo appointed SVP, Corporate Development, focussing on Publishing.

The pair report to Michael Ryan Southern, EVP, Chief Corporate Development Officer, who has led the company’s M&A activity globally since August. The new set-up gives WMG a dealmaking expert for each side of the business, enabling the company to target potential investments and acquisitions across a range of music rights and technology that will help accelerate the growth of the business.

WMG has put M&A at the heart of its expansion strategy as it seeks to turbocharge its growth and strengthen its global platform for creative talent.

Perez-Soto has spent much of the last two decades at Warner Music, starting his career there by making deals in the fast-growing Latin American market during the late 2000s, and later taking on a broader business development role tapping opportunities across a wider range of emerging markets. Since 2018 he has served as Warner Music’s leader in Emerging Markets, with overall responsibility for Africa, Eastern Europe, India and the Middle East. In that role, he designed and implemented a faster growth strategy based on M&A, geographical expansion and organic artistic success that significantly expanded Warner Music’s footprint in these rapidly expanding territories.

As a result of the growth, the leaders of Warner Music’s Emerging Markets territories who previously reported to Perez-Soto will now directly report to Simon Robson, President, EMEA, Recorded Music, WMG.

LoBiondo is a seasoned dealmaker who served as Head of Business Development for Warner Chappell Music, the music publishing arm of WMG, since 2021. In that role he identified and executed strategic acquisitions and partnerships for the publisher’s frontline songwriters and iconic repertoire of songs. He previously held a number of roles at WMG, supporting a variety of business development and digital initiatives, including the acquisition of Parlophone Label Group and a number of Series A music technology investments.

MRS comments:

“I’m delighted that Alfonso and Michael have joined our Corporate Development team. They are tenacious and curious leaders with a deep understanding of the music industry and its key players. With these appointments, we now have a strong M&A machine working together to find opportunities for the entire WMG group. We’ve committed to grow WMG through a mixture of organic and M&A activity. Now we’ve got a dedicated dealmaking beacon for each set of rights that’ll enable us to continue to improve our service to artists and songwriters.”

Alfonso Perez-Soto adds:

“I want to thank MRS and Robert for the opportunity to lead this initiative. As proven during my last six years leading Emerging Markets, proper corporate development is an expedited way to achieve growth in revenue; access to catalogs and new rosters; acquire local know-how in territories and music genres; provide artist services; and bring in executive talent. We added human factors to the financial factor, and the idea is to bring that experience to the whole Warner Recorded Music ecosystem so that we push this successful formula on a global basis.”

Michael LoBiondo concludes: “Guy and Carianne have been tremendous partners and champions of strategic deals that create new opportunities for songwriters. I look forward to continuing this work in service of songwriters with support across the entire organization, and with collaboration of colleagues in recorded music as well.”