Concord Label Group merges Fantasy Records with Concord Records; combined brand led by Co-Presidents Margi Cheske and Mark Williams

Concord Label Group, the recorded music division of US-headquartered music company Concord, has announced a significant change to its active label line-up.

The company’s Concord Records and Fantasy Records brands have been merged under the unified Concord Records banner, led by Co-Presidents Margi Cheske and Mark Williams.

Cheske and Williams are based in Los Angeles and report to Tom Becci, who was appointed last year to the newly created role of Concord Label Group Chief Executive.

A new logo has also been unveiled for the new iteration of the Concord Records label.

With over 25 years in the music industry, Concord Records Co-President Margi Cheske was Previously President of Fantasy Records (a division of Concord) and responsible for the reestablishment of the historic label.

Under Cheske’s leadership, Fantasy Records built a roster of artists including Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Allison Russell, James Taylor, Seether, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Lake Street Dive, Valerie June, Diiv, Lucius, LS Dunes, Taking Back Sunday, Marcus King Band, Grace Potter, and Devon Gilfillian.

The label also saw success with Tanya Tucker’s While I’m Livin, which won Grammy Awards for Best Country Album of the Year and Country Song of the Year, all first-time Grammy Awards for Tucker.

Prior to her role at Fantasy, Cheske was SVP Marketing at Concord and responsible for marketing campaigns for Ray Charles’ Genius Loves Company, Paul McCartney, Sia, Paul Simon, James Taylor, and Carole King.

Before joining Concord, Cheske worked at Virgin Records, marketing acts like The Smashing Pumpkins, Lenny Kravitz, Blur, and Ben Harper. She began her career in sales and distribution at Warner Elektra Atlantic (WEA). She holds a B.A. in Arts Management and Broadcasting from Columbia College in Chicago.

With over 44 years of music industry experience, Concord Records Co-President Mark Williams previously served concurrently as interim President of both Concord Records and Rounder Records.

During that time, he oversaw releases by artists such as Sierra Ferrell, Billy Strings, and The Revivalists, and signed numerous acts, including Thirty Seconds To Mars, John Vincent III, Bella White, and Amythyst Kiah.

Most recently, Williams has inked deals with rising indie artist Daffo, Los Angeles-based band Nitefire, singer-songwriter Luke Tyler Shelton, as well as the Australian indie rock band Spacey Jane.

Beginning his career as an intern/college rep for A&M and I.R.S. Records, Williams went on to spend time in A&R at Virgin Records (where he worked with Margi Cheske, then The Smashing Pumpkins’ product manager), and founded Outpost Recordings before joining Interscope Records in 2001 and Columbia Records in 2010.

He has also worked with artists such as R.E.M., No Doubt, Gwen Stefani, Nine Inch Nails, Beck, Queens Of The Stone Age, Harry Styles, Jack White, Leon Bridges, Brandi Carlile, John Legend, John Mayer, Pharrell, and Vampire Weekend, and signed artists including The Smashing Pumpkins, M.I.A., The Shins, First Aid Kit, Nine Inch Nails, Tyler the Creator, and Odd Future.

Commenting on the merger of Fantasy and Concord Records, Williams told MBW that “the ability to combine resources is a benefit for the artists and the company in general”.

He added: “We had similar paths of what we were looking to do with Fantasy and what Concord was doing, and Margie and I’ve known each other a long time, back to our Virgin days. So our skill set complements each other. It just made sense, from a lot of views, to come together and combine these rosters and the resources.”

Added Cheske: “I like to use that phrase ‘one plus one equals three’. We’ll be stronger together than we were individually.”

Concord’s eponymous label, Los Angeles-based Concord Records, was founded in 1995 as an imprint of the late Carl Jefferson’s Concord Jazz to expand its output beyond the foundational jazz on which it had focused for over 20 years.

According to Concord, its merger with historic sister label Fantasy Records “has created one of independent music’s most prolific and essential companies”.

Concord Records noted on Tuesday (September 10) that it plans to “doubl[e] its efforts of patiently developing a wide array” of artists, such as Allison Russell, Daffo, John Vincent III, Matt Berninger, and many more to come”.

The label has similarly pledged to “elevate a unique roster of established artists whose stories are not done being told”, including Esperanza Spalding, Lindsey Sterling, Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats, Taking Back Sunday, Seether, The Offspring, and Thirty Seconds To Mars.

“In a music landscape where radical change has become the norm, it is vital that labels position themselves to manage complex challenges deftly.”

Tom Becci, Concord Label Group

“In a music landscape where radical change has become the norm, it is vital that labels position themselves to manage complex challenges deftly,” said Tom Becci, Chief Executive of Concord Label Group.

Added Becci: “This merger allows Concord to best utilize our global platform while maintaining the boutique level of service artists have come to expect.

“I know Mark and Margi share this notion, and their combined resources, alongside their complementary skill sets, will be a real benefit to the artists we serve.”

“Both Concord and Fantasy Records have always pursued artists with a unique vision and story to tell; the combined Concord Records will have an environment where those creative visions will be nurtured and supported.”

Mark Williams

Mark Williams, added: “Both Concord and Fantasy Records have always pursued artists with a unique vision and story to tell; the combined Concord Records will have an environment where those creative visions will be nurtured and supported.”

 “This merger will allow us to better maximize our resources in service of those visions.”

Margi Cheske

Margi Cheske said: “This merger will allow us to better maximize our resources in service of those visions.

“Ultimately, this means a much more global, interconnected approach — allowing us, in concert with our incredible roster of artists, to bring their music to audiences around the world.”

In addition to Concord Records, Concord Label Group’s active labels include Fearless Records, Loma Vista Recordings, Rounder Records, Easy Eye Sound, Concord Records, Concord Jazz, and PULSE Records.

PULSE Records was launched as a joint-venture label with PULSE Music Group in June last year and has seen success in the US and globally this year with the Tommy Richman hit Million Dollar Baby (PULSE Records/ ISO Supremacy).

Concord Label Group’s historical labels are managed by its Craft Recordings team, and include storied imprints like Fania, Independiente, Milestone, Musart, Nitro, Pablo, Prestige, Riverside, Savoy, Specialty, Stax, Telarc, Varèse Sarabande, Vee-Jay, Victory and Wind-up.

Concord’s master recording portfolio contains more than 275,000 active song recordings and includes no less than 300 Grammy winners, which the company boasts amounts to 6.6% of all Grammys ever awarded.Music Business Worldwide