Record Label Jazzed About Move to L.A.

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Record Label Jazzed About Move to L.A.

By DARRELL SATZMAN

Staff Reporter

After nearly three decades in its namesake Bay Area town, jazz label Concord Records will move its headquarters this spring to Beverly Hills.

The move coincides with an expansion drive by the independent label, which has been broadening its catalog since it was acquired three years ago by a company led by television producer Norman Lear.

“It makes all the sense in the world for us to be (in Los Angeles),” said Glen Barros, president of Concord Records. “We’ve been growing and adding personnel and it’s really difficult to do that outside an industry center.”

Concord, which recently signed pop artist Barry Manilow, remains primarily a jazz label, but one that covers multiple genres. Several dozen new and established artists, including the late Mel Torme, Rosemary Clooney, Chick Corea, the Rippingtons and Poncho Sanchez, record on or are distributed by Concord or one of its six sub-labels.

Manilow, who was in New York last week for a five-night stand at Radio City Music Hall, said the departure of Arista Records founder Clive Davis cemented his decision to leave that label. A chance dinner with Concord executives convinced him to sign with the smaller label. Manilow’s first album on Concord, “Here at the Mayflower,” was released in November.

“It was a great night. Nobody mentioned percentages or No. 1 records, it was all about the artists and the music,” Manilow said.

Barros said that Concord, which has 39 full-time employees, will move in April to 100 N. Crescent Blvd. There, it will occupy 6,000 feet next to its parent, Act III Communications. Most of the employees will make the move south, Barros said.

Founded in 1973 by Bay Area businessman Carl Jefferson, who also started the Concord Jazz Festival, Concord Records was purchased in 1994 by Alliance Entertainment Corp. Alliance filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 1997, and in 1999 Act III, a media holding company owned by Lear and businessman Hal Gaba, acquired Concord out of the bankruptcy.

Concord’s revenues have increased by almost 100 percent since Act III bought the label, he said. “We’re pushing $20 million in revenues,” Barros said. “Despite the fact that we’re in an industry that is having a lot of trouble these days, we’re growing tremendously.”

Loyal audience

Although tiny compared with major labels, Concord has carved out a niche among jazz aficionados with its roster of old favorites and contemporary talent.

With a library approaching 1,000 albums, Concord derives 25 percent of its revenues from catalog sales, much of it from re-mastered and repackaged music that’s all ready been released, a practice common among jazz labels. But Barros stressed that a percentage of catalog sales is decreasing as Concord focuses on higher profile original releases.

At the Grammys later this month, Concord artists will be up for 11 awards, a record for an independent label, the company says.

Keely Smith, whose “Keely Sings Sinatra” garnered a Grammy nomination for “Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album,” credits Concord for helping revitalize her career. Before signing a five-record deal with Concord, Smith, although busy performing live, had not had a record contract since the mid-1980s.

“It’s worked out well,” she said. “I think Concord is a sleeping giant. They’ve got some great Latin artists and some great singers.”

Sales of jazz albums have decreased slightly over the past decade, amounting to 3 percent of more than $14 billion in album sales in 2000, according to the Recording Industry Association of America. With few radio stations maintaining jazz formats and driving sales of jazz that number is in danger of slipping further.

Barros maintains that jazz fans are a loyal group that’s eager to get their hands on new recordings and, just as importantly, new versions of old recordings.

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