Ralph Kaffel, President of Fantasy, said, “Having spent fifty years in the record business, 33 of them at Fantasy building up the catalogs, my primary concern as well as that of the other principals, was that the acquiring entity should have the proper understanding and respect for the treasure that we are turning over to them, and be willing to perpetuate the historical legacy these catalogs represent. With Norman, Hal, Glen Barros and all the other talented people now at the helm at the Concord Music Group, my colleagues and I are convinced the Fantasy catalog is in very good hands.”
Glen Barros, President and CEO at Concord, and now president and chief executive officer of the Concord Music Group, said “I am incredibly honored to be in a position to help carry the Fantasy legacy into the future. I am so enthusiastic about this merger, about working with the talented professionals involved from both sides, and the great opportunities for the combined companies going forward.”
Barros also told Morris that Concord and Fantasy will consolidate over time, but will "in all likelihood be based in both Berkeley and L.A."
Article comments
1 - dab
What? This move is not nearly as important as you describe it to be. Are you the publicist for Concord Records? No one else would make such a comparison.
2 - Aaman
Wow - that's a selection of CDs worth perusing.
Eric, I do not know much about this part of the industry, but are these two companies kinda independent? I mean, are they part of larger conglomerates (Universal/TimeWarner?)
And isn't 80 million low for a catalog this size?
3 - Eric Olsen
yes, these are two of the last remaining independents - I thought the price for this kind of catalog to be too low as well. The sense I have is that Fantasy was actively trying to sell, so that changes the equation quite a bit: if you are actively selling then you are pretty much stuck with the highest bidder, which Concord apparently was.
We have super relations with both of these organizations by the way, and I wish them nothing but the best.
4 - JR
I'm surprised at the direction of the takeover - given their respective catalogues, I would have expected Fantasy to be by far the richer company. Either I don't know anything about what sells, or assets don't have a strong relationship to sales.
I thought Stax was taken over by Atlantic/Warner a long time ago; I wonder how Fantasy got a hold of them. Again, another indication to me that Fantasy should be the larger label.
5 - Eric Olsen
Stax had a deal with Atlantic while they were still functional but the catalog has been woned by Fantasy for some time. Fantasy has been acquiring other labels, steadily building their catalog over the years, but they were the ones for sale, not Concord - it's really just a matter of who is in buying mode and who is in selling mode