Music streaming service WiMP comes to Poland – hires Polish staff with background from Universal Music and Agora

Music streaming service WiMP is preparing to open in Poland within shortly and the award-winning service has hired Adrian Ciepichal, former Head of Digital at Universal Music Polska as Polish General Manager and Katarzyna Rogalska, former editor and journalist at Agora, as Editorial Manager.

WiMP provides millions of tracks and is a music streaming service focusing on inspiring users to listen to new music and old favorites. WiMP was voted best music service at the Meffy Awards in London last year and regularly wins consumer tests in all its markets. The award-winning service is currently being tailored for the Polish market, to offer the best editorial music experience for Polish users.

“WiMP enters the Polish market with the clear aim to be the best music service for anyone who appreciates music in Poland,” says Acting CEO of WiMP, Espen Lauritzen. “Streaming is a new technology that Polish music lovers will appreciate, providing unlimited access to everything, anywhere. As a music service, WiMP’s focus is on inspiring people to listen to music. We are confident that Adrian and Katarzyna with their experience will be the right people to inspire Polish consumers to check out WiMP and find lots of new bands and artists to listen to,” says Lauritzen.

WiMP provides over 18 million tracks and accompanies its users with a local perspective and music knowledge across all genres. WiMP is not satisfied with providing millions of songs and an empty search box, but constantly feeds its users with tailor-made recommendations by real people - just like earlier in the record store. WiMP provides daily recommendations, musical tips and playlists for any occasion.

At the new WiMP office in Warsaw, Adrian Ciepichal is taking the position of General Manager for WiMP Poland. He’s most recently coming from the position as Head of Digital in Universal Music Polska, where he’s been since 2008. At Universal, Ciepichal was in charge of the strategy for digital music distribution and also managed the sales and business development departments. He was also involved in the creation of other digital music services in Poland. Ciepichal holds a Master of Business Administration from Warsaw School of Economics and also has a background as Sales Director and Key Account Manager for Monolith Video.

“I’m excited to join WiMP and lead the development of digital music in Poland further. WiMP appealed to me because of its unique design and features causing the most attractive offer on the Polish market within streaming services. I believe that Katarzyna’s and my joint efforts together with our expertise will help WiMP become the number one music service in Poland,” says Ciepichal.

Katarzyna Rogalska joins WiMP from Agora, where she was most recently the editor of Kinoplex.gazeta.pl and a journalist at Kultura.gazeta.pl and gazeta.tv. Rogalska has also been the editor of Infomuzyka.pl and Tuba.pl, a journalist in Hiro popculture magazine, and an events and gigs promoter at the Stodola Club in Warsaw for several years. She also worked in Radio Wawa and other local radio stations. Rogalska holds a Masters Degree in Journalism and Social Communication from the University of Warsaw.

“We are already on our way to fill the Polish WiMP with exciting editorial content and tailoring the service to Polish listeners. We will make sure that anything from Brodka to Myslovitz is easy to find and we will provide our users with daily recommendations, exciting playlists and tons of musical tips from both the international and Polish music scene,” says Rogalska.

WiMP has licensed over 18 million tracks and has some 350,000 paying users worldwide and growing rapidly. The service is available in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Germany and in Holland under a different brand. WiMP will launch in Poland soon, and is also preparing launch in other countries.

WiMP’s parent company Aspiro, listed on the Nasdaq OMX stock exchange in Stockholm, reported its interim report for the third quarter today. Net revenue for Music was some SEK 50.8 m, up 45% year-on-year, year-to-date revenues amounted to SEK 149.8 m, up 89% compared to the same period 2011. EBITDA for the third quarter was SEK -12.4 m (SEK -5.0 m), year-to-date SEK -36.9 m (SEK -18.5 m).

Press contact: Kristin Castillo Eldnes, Head of Communication and PR, kristin.eldnes@wimpmusic.com, +47 908 07 389

About WiMP
WiMP is a music streaming service focusing on inspiring users to find new music and old favorites. Through local editorial teams in each country, WiMP provides daily recommendations, tips and playlists for any occasion. The service is available on computers and mobiles, tablets and network players. Read more on www.wimp.no, www.wimpmusic.se, www.wimp.dk or www.wimp.de

Tags: