Reuters/Billboard - Concord Recores on a roll with Grammys...
Scooter - NGV
biggest selling album before Ray Charles "Genius Love Company" in 2004,
and he's listed as a marquee artist, but the entire article is
interesting.
...............
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20050507/music_nm/concord_dc_1
Reuters/Billboard
Fri May 6, [2005] 9:47 PM ET
Concord Records on a roll with Grammys, Fantasy buy
By Dan Ouellette
As told by the label's late founder, Carl Jefferson, the Concord Records
story began "accidentally."
Jefferson was a Lincoln Mercury dealer in the small California town of
Concord, 30 miles east of San Francisco. After founding a modest summer
jazz festival there in 1969, he soon discovered that some of the straight-
ahead performers he booked had been left behind by the rock and jazz-
fusion boom.
When guitarists Herb Ellis and Joe Pass told him they could not score a
recording deal, he replied, "Hell, how much could it cost?"
In an interview with this writer in 1993, two years before his death,
Jefferson recalled, "I was making a profit at my car dealership at the
time, so I said, 'Let's just do it."'
Other musicians with similar laments followed as one project led to the
next, and quickly -- even before a label was officially established --
Jefferson had a 10-title catalog. Finally, he formed Concord in 1973 "to
keep the record-making process going. I wasn't thinking of this as a
commercial endeavor at all. I was doing it for the musicians, because jazz
was so devastated at the time."
Today, Concord, based in Beverly Hills, Calif., is a significant player --
not just in jazz circles (where it is the No. 1 independent jazz label,
according to the Billboard charts), but also in an array of adult-oriented
genres, from pop to Latin.
Concord enjoyed a banner year in 2004. In August, Concord issued Ray
Charles' "Genius Loves Company," which won eight Grammy Awards and has
sold almost 2.9 million copies in the United States, according to Nielsen
SoundScan. And in November, it completed the acquisition of Fantasy
Records, the Berkeley, Calif.-based gold mine of jazz, pop, rock and R&B
titles, for a reported $83 million.
Prior to "Genius," Concord's biggest hits were Barry Manilow's "Here at
the Mayflower" (which sold more than 180,000 copies), a self-titled CD
from vocalist Peter Cincotti (167,000) and the Rippingtons' "Life in the
Tropics" (nearly 160,000).
But the success of "Genius" changed all that.
The label is not only signing more acts but finding that it has more
leverage in attracting premium performers. Jo Foster, head of Concord PR,
says, "People are taking the label more seriously now. We've become a
player."
For 2005, Concord has a full docket of jazz-and-beyond releases scheduled,
including a Sergio Mendes collaboration with the Black Eyed Peas'
Will.I.Am; an Earth, Wind & Fire-inspired project piloted by Maurice
White; a live Sonny Rollins album recorded four days after Sept. 11, 2001;
and a full-year 25th-anniversary celebration of its Latin jazz arm,
Concord Picante, with CDs by Eddie Palmieri and Poncho Sanchez.
Earlier this year, Concord merged its labels -- Concord Jazz, Concord
Picante, Jazz Alliance, Peak, Stretch and Playboy Jazz -- with Fantasy's
imprints, including Contemporary, Debut, Milestone, Kicking Mule,
Stax/Volt, Riverside, Prestige, Pablo, Specialty and Takoma. The resulting
Concord Music Group boasts the world's largest independent jazz catalog
and one of the largest indie archives.
Marquee performers on adult-pop-oriented Concord Records include Manilow,
Cincotti, Michael Feinstein and Ozomatli. Concord Jazz features singers
Karrin Allyson and Keely Smith, pianist Marian McPartland and
singer/saxophonist Curtis Stigers. The Concord Picante roster includes the
Caribbean Jazz Project. Stretch is home to Chick Corea, and Peak
spotlights such smooth jazz acts as the Rippingtons and Paul Taylor.
The Fantasy catalog features material by such jazz legends as Miles Davis
and John Coltrane as well as influential pop acts like Little Richard and
Creedence Clearwater Revival.
Though still an indie, Concord is releasing music at the accelerated rate
that was once a major-label hallmark. And although the Fantasy acquisition
has put it on the scale of a major label, Concord continues to operate
with the flexibility and independence of a smaller company.
"We're always seeking to stay a step ahead of other labels," Concord GM
Gene Rumsey says. "But the majors turn like a battleship, and we can spin
on a dime by just walking down the hall to do business."
Glen Barros, Concord's president/CEO of the last 10 years, says the label
has veered radically from the path of most contemporary recording-industry
models.
"Those old formulas no longer apply," Barros says. "Like in the wine
world, the less you doctor the product, the better it is. We want our
artists to create from the heart and soul. Then it's our job to take their
music to the widest possible audience."
In the past, Barros says, the label was recognized for its artistic
excellence while its commercial endeavors were lacking. But shortly before
his death, Jefferson -- who was more jazz fan and scout than astute label
executive -- brought Barros aboard to helm the enterprise.
"We've been working on equaling things out, to pull the marketing and
sales up to the same level as the art," Barros says. "We're achieving that
by coming up with creative ways to get the music to the audience."
Rumsey says the old industry model was to just release music and let
potential consumers seek it out. "We subscribe to finding where the
consumers are and bringing the music to them.
"We'll never turn our backs on our retail partners. We won't do anything
to hurt them," Rumsey says. "But we are looking into other joint ventures
like our partnership with Starbucks, where 33 million people a week were
exposed to Ray's album." (While Concord continues to work with Starbucks,
new collaborative retail projects have not yet been confirmed.)
John Burk, executive VP/senior VP of A&R, says Concord has been ramping up
a slew of projects in light of the success of "Genius Loves Company."
"We're not giving up on jazz, of course, but we are looking to further
expand the direction of the music," he says.
Burk, who was mentored by Jefferson for six years, notes that the
expansion got into full swing with Charles, who was perfect because he was
a jazz artist who was also successful in so many other genres.
"At the time we started talking with him, no one was knocking on his door
to work with him," he says. "In a similar vein, we're looking to work with
a whole segment of disenfranchised artists who are being underserved by
the present models in the record business."
That's a key reason why roots-rocking drummer/producer Jamie Oldaker
decided to link up with Concord for his debut CD as a leader, "Mad Dog &
Okies." The set features guest performances by Eric Clapton, Vince Gill,
Willie Nelson, J.J. Cale and Taj Mahal and is scheduled for a July 12
release.
"I may not sell a million out of the chute, but I know I won't get lost in
the system here," Oldaker says. "I like Concord. I like the roster, and
plus I get to talk on the phone with the people who are making the
decisions. With Concord branching off beyond jazz, this is a good place
for this project."
While Concord's expansion will continue, jazz will still be "at the heart
and soul of the label," Barros says. He says its new signings will include
the "blue chips" (legendary players like Rollins who he believes are not
getting the exposure they deserve) as well as up-and-coming talent like
pianist Taylor Eigsti, pop-jazz singer LaToya London (a former "American
Idol" contestant) and trumpeter Christian Scott.
"There's a whole new generation of extremely talented young kids who are
playing jazz," Burk says. "We're thinking of new ways of marketing them,
like recording samplers and packaging them on tour together. We want to
capture that explosion of the young."
On the Fantasy catalog front, little has been decided, though Barros
notes, "We're looking very carefully at how to treat this treasure we
have. We'll be dusting off the archives and putting them into a new
spotlight."
Concord VP of artist and catalog development Nick Phillips, who is based
in the Fantasy building in Berkeley, says, "There are lots of
opportunities to make compilations and reissues that combine the Concord
and Fantasy catalogs." He estimates that new reissue material will be
released in the fourth quarter.
--
Scooter - NGV (News Group Veteran)
...
There is no snooze button on a cat who wants breakfast.
Steven Goldstein
Ouch. The favorite album of this ng sold only 180,000 copies. Ouch.
"Scooter - NGV" <scoot...@DIESPAM.yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:IB2fe.8755$HL2....@newsread3.news.pas.earthlink.net...
Scooter - NGV
>> http://tinyurl.com/chx7c
>>
>> Reuters/Billboard
>>
>> Fri May 6, [2005] 9:47 PM ET
<snip to>
>> Prior to "Genius," Concord's biggest hits were Barry Manilow's "Here at
>> the Mayflower" (which sold more than 180,000 copies), a self-titled CD
>> from vocalist Peter Cincotti (167,000) and the Rippingtons' "Life in
>> the Tropics" (nearly 160,000).
> Scooter, that's the first time I've ever seen a total sales figure for
> HATM. Ouch. The favorite album of this ng sold only 180,000 copies.
> Ouch.
Back on Feb. 18, Billboard listed the figure at 175,000:
...
http://abcnews.go.com/Entertai要ment/wireStory?id=513822
Reuters/Billboard
Feb 18, 2005
Re: Concord
"...previous top sellers from the Rippingtons (via a deal with Peak),
Barry Manilow and Peter Cincotti had all notched sales of around 175,000
units."
...
So, maybe Vegas is helping sales. :-)
Robinann
now that Barry is at the Hilton? Course, he could throw in a couple of
the Mayflower songs in his show.
Robin
Scooter - NGV
> "Steven Goldstein" <Gold...@usa.net> Wrote
>
>> that's the first time I've ever seen a total sales figure for HATM.
>> Ouch. The favorite album of this ng sold only 180,000 copies. Ouch.
>>
>>
>
> Excuse me Whilst I smile ;-)
>
You just go right ahead and grin all you want because one of those 180,000
was you. ;-D
Scooter - NGV
>
>>> "Steven Goldstein" <Gold...@usa.net> Wrote
>>>
>>>> that's the first time I've ever seen a total sales figure for HATM.
>>>> Ouch. The favorite album of this ng sold only 180,000 copies. Ouch.
>
>
>>>> "Reb Ž" <TheRe...@GMail.com> wrote:
>>> Excuse me Whilst I smile ;-)
>
>
>> "Scooter - NGV" <scoot...@DIESPAM.yahoo.com> Wrote
>> You just go right ahead and grin all you want because one of those
>> 180,000 was you. ;-D
>
>
> yes, Scooter..ONE was me but FOUR was you! lol how many copies of
> HATM did you buy? lol
I forget how many I puchased - 5 - 10 - 30? ...but I actually LIKE HATM.
;-)
strugglebuggy
those cds hes compiling. The ones of unheard stuff lying around the
studio. He mentioned them not long ago. Europe is more jazz oriented.
Maybe they should have pushed it there?