Warner Music Buys Back Part of German Distributor Zebralution, Expanding Reach in Europe
Billboard ·
The pioneering digital distributor of music and audiobooks was sold by WMG in 2017 but now returns with enhanced resources.
Warner Music Group (WMG) said Tuesday (Nov. 3) it had acquired indie record label distributor Zebralution Music GmbH from Bookwire, bringing back part of the Zebralution company it owned for a decade and expanding the major’s reach into the business of serving Germany and Europe.
Zebralution Music is a spinoff of Zebralution Gmbh, which Bookwire acquired from the German performance rights organization GEMA in March 2026. In a press release announcing the Bookwire acquisition at the time, Bookwire described Zebralution as among the first big digital distributors of music, audiobooks, e-books and podcasts, with more than 1,500 label and publisher clients globally. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
WMG acquired Zebralution in 2007 and sold it in 2017 to its founders Kurt Thielen , Sascha Lazimbat , Christof Ellinghaus and Konrad von Löhneysen . Founded in 2003, Zebralution distributed a catalog of 500,000-plus tracks, albums and videos to hundreds of digital services worldwide at the time WMG sold it.
The reacquisition follows WMG’s April deal to buy B2B music distribution platform Revelator and further expands the reach and services offered through WMG and its distribution and services offerings housed under ADA. Zebralution Music label clients gain access to WMG’s technology, distribution, analytics and financial tools. The company’s now co-CEOs von Löhneysen and Lazimbat will remain with the company “to align strategic operations,” according to a statement.
“This is an exciting new chapter for Zebralution Music, but for our label partners and the people we work with every day, it will very much be business as usual,” Lazimbat said in a statement. “We’ll continue to operate with the same team, the same relationships … What does change is the additional technology and resources now available to us, which will help us build on what we have already achieved.”
Von Löhneysen, whose own label, Embassy of Music, is a Zebralution client, echoed the sentiment that customers should expect “the same people, the same approach and the same independence they’ve always valued.”
Niels Walboomers , president of Warner Music Central Europe, said WMG was drawn to Zebralution’s regional expertise and world-class capabilities.
“Konrad and Sascha have built one of the most trusted homes for independent music in Europe,” Walboomers said.