The Concord Music Group has completed its acquisition of Telarc in a deal that was in the works for about 18 months. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, although Concord CEO Glen Barros says the company used equity and debt to finance it. The deal also includes the Heads Up International imprint, which has been a part of Telarc since 2000.
Barros says that the deal continues a strong push into growth and a wider presence in the “adult music” market that began with Concord’s acquisition of Fantasy in November 2004, for which it paid roughly $83 million according to sources at the time. “The common denominator across our labels is that we target the adult consumer,” notes Barros. “Telarc and Heads Up’s strong identity in classical music, blues, and world music really expand the musical spectrum for us, and that’s part of a growth plan that we’ve had in place for a long time.”
Telarc, based in Cleveland, generates about $10 million in annual sales while Fantasy, based in Berkeley, totaled $22 million in sales in the fiscal year prior to its acquisition, sources say. Between the two acquisitions and Concord’s own move to releasing more mainstream records, Billboard estimates that Concord’s revenue is on pace to reach amount $80 million annually.
“Telarc’s brand name and culture were both definitely important to Concord,” says Bob Woods, Telarc’s president and senior producer, who founded the audiophile label 33 years ago with Jack Renner. Woods will stay on as president of Telarc, while Renner is retiring.
Woods notes that the acquisition will not negate Heads Up and Telarc’s identity. “These brands are extremely valuable to consumers,” he says. “Concord and Telarc have co-existed for years without stepping on each other’s toes artistically, and joining forces now is a way of creating an even stronger and broader entity.”
Telarc, has a catalog that takes in about 1,000 masters, including albums by such acts as Dave Brubeck, George Shearing, Ray Brown, Andre Previn, Oscar Peterson, John Pizzarelli, Tierney Sutton, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, the Cincinnati Symphony and Cincinnati Pops Orchestras, and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
The Heads Up International imprint, founded and headed by its president, Dave Love, has a roster that includes Spyro Gyra, Najee, Michael Brecker, The Yellowjackets, and Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Hugh Masekela.
While Barros says he will efficiently integrate the Telarc operation into Concord, he adds there are no plans to reduce the staff in Cleveland at this time. “Telarc and Heads Up are production centers and we intend to leave them as that,” says Barros.
With the acquisition, Barros estimates that Concord will issue about 150 albums next year, about half new releases and the other half catalog re-releases.
Concord Music Group is owned by Act III Communications, a multi-media company with interests in broadcasting and motion pictures that is co-owned by Hal Gaba and Norman Lear, and Tailwind Capital, a private equity firm which runs the $1.3 billion TWCP LP fund.
