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Concord has unveiled the inaugural members of its newly-formed advisory board, which includes alumni from companies such as Interscope, Quality Control, Rhino Entertainment, and Concord itself.
In a statement issued on Wednesday (November 20), Concord described the advisory board members as an “extraordinary group of accomplished executives” who will advise on the company’s strategic direction and innovation efforts.
“Over the past decade, we at Concord have significantly grown in our catalog, frontline roster, headcount, and overall scale. We have truly established our position as the world’s leading independent music company,” Concord CEO Bob Valentine said.
“As Concord continues on this trajectory and the music industry’s ecosystem grows increasingly complex, having an advisory board of this caliber with such far-reaching expertise will be especially advantageous.”
Heading up the advisory board as Chairman will be Scott Pascucci, a current member of Concord’s Board of Directors who served as the company’s CEO from 2015 to 2023, and as Managing Director from 2013 to 2015.
Prior to Concord, Pascucci served as President and COO of Exclusive Releasing and President of Warner Music Group’s Rhino Entertainment. He currently serves as Executive Chairman of Morrison Hotel Gallery.
“I am excited to welcome this amazing cohort of exceptional people and we are honored that they have chosen to be a part of Concord’s first Advisory Board,” Pascucci said.
“Every business wrestles with foreseen and unforeseen issues that can potentially affect its business or the industry in which it operates. The Concord Board of Directors is confident that this talented group will be an invaluable resource to the Company — acting as a sounding board for ideas, a conduit to networks of interesting people, and providing fresh perspectives that will help Concord to innovate and grow.”
Joining Pascucci on the board will be a number of music industry veterans and executives from outside the world of music. Among those from the music world will be Darien Dash (not to be confused with Damon Dash), co-founder in 1991 of DASH Entertainment, a company that would eventually become Roc-A-Fella Records, co-founded by Jay-Z.
Dash served as Chief Financial Officer and Global Head of Corporate Strategy for QC (Quality Control) Media Holdings, where, according to Concord, he played a “pivotal role” in the $320-million sale of QC to HYBE. Dash currently manages a roster of artists with Roc-A-Fella co-founder Kareem Biggs Burke.
Also on the advisory board will be Marc Geiger, a co-creator of Lollapalooza and Executive Vice President of A&R, Marketing, and New Media for Rick Rubin’s American Recordings. Geiger is most recently known for founding SAVELIVE, an initiative to support live music venues during the shutdowns of the Covid pandemic. He also spent 17 years at William Morris Agency, part of that time as head of the music division.
Tom Whalley, a veteran of Warner Bros. Records, has also been tapped to join the advisory board. Whalley’s resume includes a stint as Head of A&R at Capitol Records in the 1980s, co-founder of Interscope Records in 1990, and eventually Chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. Records. Whalley also founded Loma Vista Recordings, a venture with Universal Music Group’s Sir Lucian Grainge and Republic Records. The label joined Concord in 2014, and Whalley served as Chief Label Officer for Concord Label Group until 2023.
“As Concord continues on this trajectory and the music industry’s ecosystem grows increasingly complex, having an advisory board of this caliber with such far-reaching expertise will be especially advantageous.”
Bob Valentine, Concord
Another Concord alum, Jake Wisely, will also be joining the advisory board. Wisely is a non-voting Director on Concord’s Board of Directors, and served as the company’s Chief Publishing Executive from 2015 to 2020.
Also on the advisory board will be Greg Ballard, a former CEO and COO for Warner Custom Music and SVP of Social, Mobile, and Emerging Platforms at Warner Bros. Ballard is primarily known for his work outside the music industry, having served as CEO of numerous companies including SONICblue, MyFamily.com / Ancestry.com, and two companies he led to their IPOs, 3Dfx Interactive and Glu Mobile.
Among advisory board members from outside the music world will be Liat Ben-Zur, an expert in digital transformation and leading turnarounds at major companies. Her resume includes Microsoft, Philips, and Qualcomm.
“The Concord Board of Directors is confident that this talented group will be an invaluable resource to the Company.”
Scott Pascucci, Concord Advisory Board
Also on the board will be writer/director Janicza Bravo, known for films that have screened at AFI, BAM, Carnegie Hall, SXSW, Sundance, and Tribeca. Her feature film debut, Lemon, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was distributed by Magnolia Pictures. In 2020, Variety named her a “director to watch.”
Entrepreneur, serial startup founder, and philanthropist Nick Grouf will also sit on the advisory board. Dubbed a “pioneer of the Web 1.0 generation,” he is the co-founder and managing director of venture capital fund Alpha Edison, and founder of tech incubator Clementine Capital.
TJ Haynes-Morgan, the Chief Audit Executive for Raymond James Financial, will also be joining the advisory board, as will Brooks Running Company CEO Jim Weber. Haynes-Morgan’s resume also includes Citigroup, where he served as Head of Compliance Risk Assessment & Analytics. Weber’s resume includes Sims Sports, O’Brien International, and The Pillsbury Company.
Executive search and leadership development company Boyden advised Concord’s Board of Directors in forming the advisory board.
Headquartered in Nashville with additional offices in Los Angeles, New York, London, Berlin, Melbourne, and Miami, Concord says it serves more than 125,000 artists and songwriters, and boasts a catalog of more than 1.3 million songs, compositions, sound recordings, films, plays, and musicals.
Concord was most recently in the news for closing an $850-million music asset-backed securities transaction, with the borrowed money going towards “strategic growth and acquisitions.”
Concord also recently closed a $217-million acquisition of the catalog of Latin Music superstar Daddy Yankee.
Earlier this year, the company pulled out of a bidding war for control of Hipgnosis Songs Fund, leaving Blackstone to acquire Hipgnosis’ large music catalog.Music Business Worldwide