Viral to international: Warner Music’s Kevin Segler on breaking German dance acts, from Robin Schulz to BENNETT

From intern to industry leader, Kevin Segler’s journey through the heart of Germany’s music scene is a testament to passion, persistence, and creative vision. Now serving as Director of Marketing, Dance at Warner Music Central Europe, he oversees campaigns for some of the region’s biggest dance acts, including BENNETT, Hugel, Marten Lou, and Robin Schulz. Since joining the company in 2007 as a marketing intern, he has played a pivotal role in shaping the careers of internationally recognised artists, helping to elevate German dance music onto the global stage.

Segler’s belief in human creativity, collaborative innovation, and the evolving digital landscape has made him a driving force behind Warner Music’s recent chart success. The label led throughout 2024 and closed Q1 2025 as the major force in Germany’s electronic and dance charts. 

With a new office in Berlin – Europe’s club capital – serving as a hub for creativity and connection, Segler and his team are building on the momentum of a thriving domestic scene that’s capturing global attention. From Marten Lou’s Coachella debut to Robin Schulz’s ongoing international acclaim, Segler is focused on what’s next: staying ahead of digital trends, empowering artists, and ensuring that German dance music continues to resonate far beyond its borders.

In this interview with Headliner, Segler shares his vision for building a powerhouse dance team that operates with the agility and spirit of an independent label within a major, and discusses his commitment to developing local talent, such as highly acclaimed artists like BENNETT and Marten Lou, and helping them grow into global stars. 

He reflects on how platforms like TikTok have transformed the industry, shifting power from traditional gatekeepers to audiences, and how Warner Music has adapted its strategies accordingly. He also touches on the rising interest from international artists choosing to sign in Germany, and makes clear Warner Music's dedication to authentic, human creativity.

You started your career as a marketing intern at Warner Music Germany in 2007. How has your journey evolved from that internship to becoming the Director of Marketing, Dance at Warner Music Central Europe?

It's been quite a span of time – almost 18 years now, starting back in 2007 when I began as an intern with the marketing team. Back then, our operations weren’t divided between international and domestic; we didn't have a dedicated domestic unit yet. At that time, our Co-President, Fabian Drebes, was a product manager in the marketing department.

Towards the end of my internship, luck was on my side as one of our product managers left, allowing me to extend my stay for another six months, where I worked in a role that blended product management and marketing assistance. This period allowed me to demonstrate my ambition and work ethic. During this time, I had the chance to contribute to projects like the debut Foals album, Antidotes and several others.

Following this, I secured a position as a marketing assistant, where I stayed for another three and a half years before being promoted to Brand Manager. Around this time, Fabian was promoted to Marketing Director, which enabled me to step into his former role in product management. I worked with acts like Linkin Park, Twenty One Pilots, Babyshambles, Damon Albarn and Muse, which was a significant learning experience.

In 2015, three years after becoming a brand manager, I transitioned to our newly established domestic team. From then on, my focus shifted exclusively to domestic artists as we began to strengthen our domestic business with dedicated services and a specialised unit. In 2018, as a senior brand manager, I took over managing one of our biggest artists, Robin Schulz.

Since November of last year, I've been leading our newly formed dance squad. Our team has expanded significantly, and we operate somewhat like an internal entity, though not quite a label.

In your current role and responsibilities as Director of Marketing, Dance, how has your leadership impacted the growth of Warner Music Central Europe's presence in the dance music scene?

My ambition is to build a team that feels like a strong, powerful force, almost like an independent label operating within a major one. The goal is to develop artists from the German market and help them grow beyond just a presence in Central Europe. 

We think global from the start. We want to take artists like BENNETT, who comes from a small town in Germany, and who had a viral debut track, and support their journey to becoming major international brands.

According to Spotify's 2024 Global Impact List, which highlights artists generating the most streams outside their home markets, German dance music has made a significant international impact. Notably, Robin Schulz continues to shine, while the local Hypertechno scene, including artists like BENNETT, is gaining global attention. You've been instrumental in the careers of artists like Alle Farben, BENNETT, Robin Schulz, and Hugel. How has Warner Music supported its development and international success?

Robin Schulz is a great example of how we successfully brought other affiliates and countries within the Warner Music Group network on board to be part of his journey. Today, he’s the most successful German artist on a global scale. It’s incredible to see how far he’s come: from a DJ in Osnabrück uploading tracks on SoundCloud to becoming the most successful German artist abroad of all time.

We worked closely with him and his management, led by Stefan Dabruck, and that partnership has remained strong to this day. It’s been amazing to witness what can be achieved when you have a clear plan, a strong vision, and the determination to overcome obstacles along the way. From the beginning, there’s been a consistent flow of releases, always featuring top-quality tracks and some of the best songwriters in the industry.

TikTok has reshaped how dance tracks break through, often creating viral moments before a song even charts. How has the platform influenced your marketing strategies for dance releases?

It’s both a challenge and an opportunity. These days, you're not as reliant on gatekeepers or people in key positions deciding whether or not you have potential, as was often the case 10 or 20 years ago, when getting on platforms like MTV was essential for success.

Now, the landscape is much more democratic. It's the audience who decides whether you have the potential to become a meaningful part of their lives, and I think that’s the most important shift artists need to understand. Social media is an opportunity to connect with people and bring them along on your journey. And if you approach it the right way, combined with genuine talent and strong music, people will follow, support you, and help you grow.

Have you noticed any common threads or trends in how dance music performs on TikTok compared to other genres? Are there specific campaigns or artist moments where TikTok made all the difference?

BENNETT is one of the most striking examples we’ve had in recent years. He created a track for his sister while sitting at the desk in his childhood bedroom. She’d requested it because she loved the film the original song featured in. He initially made it as an intro for a DJ set he was going to play.

As the track started gaining traction, particularly on TikTok, even before its official release, we had to adapt our strategy, despite our content strategies working very well. 

The pressure and momentum on the platform were already so high that we made the decision to hold off on our usual Spotify pitching process. Instead, we chose to release the track quickly, focus on building momentum, and keep the content stream alive by engaging people organically throughout the journey.

As Director of Marketing, Dance, what are your primary strategic focuses moving forward? How do you envision further strengthening Warner Music's position in the dance music genre?

We aim to grow our German dance roster not only domestically, but also across Europe and globally, especially because Germany remains one of the largest and most influential dance music markets in the world. 

We’re seeing increasing interest from international artists wanting to sign with us. Several international acts already on our roster have given us great feedback, saying they prefer signing in Germany at the moment because they feel it benefits their careers.

A lot of artists, who aren’t signed in Germany directly, gained traction last year partly through their success in the German market. That local support helped elevate their profiles more broadly. Our focus now is on increasing our market share. 

While Warner Music may not be the largest label globally, it’s one of the top three, and when it comes to dance music in Germany, we’re leading. Last year, we held a 41% share of all Dance tracks charting in Germany’s Top 100, which is a fantastic result.

Of course, we’re always working to anticipate which genres might trend next. It’s a challenge, as trends are evolving faster than ever. Right now, we’re seeing the rise, and already in some cases the slow decline, of Hyper Techno, Afro House, and Trance, which has already become huge in Germany. 

At the moment you see subgenres like Arab House, Drum’n’Bass or even Dubstep growing again. We’re keeping a close eye on all of these movements as we shape our strategy, both locally and internationally.

Warner Music artist Charli xcx’s Brat album was huge for bringing the dance/rave scene to the mainstream and was incredibly successful in terms of sales, streaming and awards. Do you think the success of Brat signals a broader shift in how the industry and mainstream audiences engage with club music?

Yes, definitely. We’re seeing that more and more people are engaging with dance music at the moment, even those who typically lean towards mainstream music and may not be deeply involved in club, live, or festival scenes. There’s a growing interest in pop and dance as they continue to merge, which isn't entirely new, but it’s becoming more prominent.

Moments like ‘Brat Summer’ have definitely helped bring more people into the space. Many listeners are discovering dance music without even realising it, they perceive it simply as modern pop. The boundaries between genres are blurred, and dance music is becoming a more and more natural part of the mainstream soundscape again.

What industry shifts or emerging trends discussed at IMS in Ibiza this year caught your attention, especially in terms of where the global dance scene is headed?

I believe we’re still very much in growth mode, and we’ll continue to see more emerging young artists who are evolving quickly and organically, without it feeling forced. 

Audiences genuinely connect with them. And while certain artists have been making waves in recent years, some of them have been around for nearly two decades, and they’ve still achieved massive success. I think we’ll continue to see more artists rising from niche scenes, gradually breaking through to wider audiences and building genuine fanbases as the landscape evolves.

Are you having conversations around issues surrounding AI-generated music within Warner Music, or with your artists?

Yes, of course, it’s definitely a topic of discussion at Warner Music, and our position is that while AI can be a tool for our artists, we deeply believe in talent and the human essence of creativity. Our priority is always to support and protect our artists, and that includes ensuring transparency and safeguarding their work as AI technologies evolve.

Robin Schulz on working with Kevin Segler:

Working with Warner Music has been a great journey from the beginning. Especially in electronic music, where things change quickly, their support of my creative vision has always been important to me. Working with Kevin Segler, who has been part of my journey for almost a decade now, brings a lot of trust into the process and gives me the freedom to evolve as an artist.

Image credit - second photo: Copyright Jakob Bauer.