Anna-Maria Antippas: Music Industry Executive

Anna-Maria Antippas and Cobalt Music

• Anna-Maria Antippas is a young executive who has taken over the management of Cobalt Music, a record company established after Universal's takeover of EMI.
• Cobalt Music was previously owned by Universal Music Greece, which was recently purchased by a company controlled by Antippas' father, Victor Antippas.
• The company has come back into the hands of the Antippas family, which established the label over half a century ago.

Company History

• Antippas' grandfather, Nikos Antippas, managed Helladisc in the 1950s, which was later renamed several times before becoming Cobalt Music.

Current Roster and Catalog

• Cobalt Music represents a roster of acts including Alkinoos Ioannidis, Nikos Portokaloglou, Eleftheria Arvanitaki, and others.
• The company's catalogs also include established names such as Manos Hadjidakis, Mikis Theodorakis, and Nikos Gatsos.

Challenges Facing the Industry

• Antippas believes that piracy is the number one problem facing the industry.
• Despite the challenges, she is confident that the recording business will not fade away.

Market Strategy

• Antippas plans to introduce streaming to combat piracy, but notes that Greeks are not yet ready to embrace this technology.
• The CD market is still alive in Greece because the country has yet to enter the digital age.

Creative Vision

• Antippas is planning to work with international acts and invest in new talent.
• She believes that recording albums is a business that requires passion, energy, and young people to run after artists.

Personal Background

• Antippas was born in 1984 and spent her childhood in Greece before moving to Switzerland in 1996 when her father's career took off internationally.
• She experienced cultural shock and bullying in school, but eventually adapted to her new environment.