EMPIRE\u00a0is expanding again.<\/p>\n
The independent label, distributor, and publisher, which celebrates 15 years in the music industry in 2025, has officially launched in the Nordic region, led by Iman Hazheer<\/strong>, as Territory Manager.<\/p>\n According to EMPIRE, in this newly established role, Hazheer will lead strategic initiatives for the company across Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, and Iceland<\/strong>, driving artist relations, market development, and regional partnerships.<\/p>\n Based in Stockholm, Hazheer will work closely with EMPIRE\u2019s international team to amplify the company\u2019s footprint in what EMPIRE calls “one of Europe\u2019s most vibrant and innovative music markets”.<\/p>\n \u201cThe further expansion across Europe into the Nordic region further cements EMPIRE as champions of bringing music and culture to a global audience,” EMPIRE’s Founder and CEO, Ghazi, told MBW.<\/p>\n \u201cThe further expansion across Europe into the Nordic region further cements EMPIRE as champions of bringing music and culture to a global audience.”<\/p>\n Ghazi<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Added Ghazi: \u201cIman\u2019s knowledge of the music business makes him the best fit to spearhead these efforts and we are happy to welcome him to the team.\u201d<\/p>\n Hazheer arrives at EMPIRE with a decade of experience at the intersection of music, culture, and brand strategy. He spent nearly seven years at Spotify<\/strong>, where he led editorial strategy for the Nordics as a Senior Editor, curating playlists and “shaping the regional music narrative”.<\/p>\n Prior to that, he worked with artists across Northern Europe as part of the Entertainment division at Nike, in Amsterdam.<\/p>\n He began his career as a music and culture journalist at Sveriges Radio, covering emerging trends and, as EMPIRE notes, “elevating voices across Sweden\u2019s creative landscape”.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Nordic region has long been a global force in music, but the path to international recognition is becoming increasingly narrow especially for independent and emerging artists.”<\/p>\n Iman Hazheer<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \u201cThe Nordic region has long been a global force in music, but the path to international recognition is becoming increasingly narrow, especially for independent and emerging artists,\u201d said Hazheer.<\/p>\n \u201cThroughout my career, I\u2019ve seen firsthand the challenges talented creators face when trying to scale beyond their home markets. That\u2019s why I\u2019m excited to join EMPIRE, a company that not only understands the nuances of local culture but also offers a truly artist-first model.<\/p>\n “We\u2019re here to challenge the status quo, champion artists on their own terms and give the Nordic talent pool the platform they deserve, globally.\u201d<\/p>\n “Iman\u2019s industry knowledge, cultural fluency, and strategic approach make him the ideal leader to expand our presence and deepen our impact in the region.\u201d<\/p>\n Guillermo Ramos<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Guillermo Ramos, EMPIRE\u2019s Managing Director of Europe, added: \u201cIt is with great enthusiasm that we welcome Iman to EMPIRE as our Territory Manager, Nordics.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Nordics are home to a rich ecosystem of musical talent and forward-thinking creators. Iman\u2019s industry knowledge, cultural fluency, and strategic approach make him the ideal leader to expand our presence and deepen our impact in the region.\u201d<\/p>\n Founded by Ghazi in 2010,\u00a0EMPIRE has worked with artists including\u00a0Kendrick Lamar, Fireboy DML, Shaboozey, Asake,\u00a0<\/b>and Anderson Paak.<\/b><\/p>\n In addition to its prominent positioning in the North American market, the San Francisco-headquartered company’s global presence extends to the African continent<\/a>, Europe, Asia, and South America.<\/p>\n In April, EMPIRE expanded<\/a>\u00a0in Asia with a multi-year partnership with Cambodian music company Baramey Production.<\/p>\n EMPIRE\u2019s partnership with Baramey Production marked its latest strategic move in Asia after appointing<\/a>\u00a0respected executive\u00a0Jeffrey Yoo<\/b>\u00a0as Senior Vice President, East Asia, in October. At that time, EMPIRE also\u00a0made its first signing<\/a>\u00a0in Asia, Korean superstar\u00a0G-Dragon<\/b>.<\/p>\n The company launched EMPIRE Africa<\/a>\u00a0in 2022, following\u00a0the launch<\/a> of a division the previous year to focus on West Asia, North Africa, and its diaspora.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Hazheer spent nearly seven years at Spotify, where he led editorial strategy for the Nordics as a Senior Editor<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":236082,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[4587],"class_list":["post-236081","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-empire"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236081","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=236081"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236081\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":236099,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236081\/revisions\/236099"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/236082"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=236081"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=236081"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=236081"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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