Concord has revealed plans for a management transition in 2023.
Bob Valentine, currently Concord’s President, will become CEO effective July 1, 2023.
Current CEO Scott Pascucci and chief label officer Tom Whalley will step down from their positions on June 30, 2023.
Pascucci will remain a member of Concord’s board of directors, and both Pascucci and Whalley will be inaugural members of a newly formed Concord advisory board along with Jake Wisely, Concord’s former chief publishing officer. Whalley will also continue his day-to-day involvement in Loma Vista Recordings, his label joint venture with Concord.
Amid the boom in music rights, Concord has explored a sale of the business on behalf of its owner, but the independent music company is now focused on further growth.
“I started my career in the music business 30-plus years ago for the simple reason that I love music, and I discovered along the way that I enjoy building businesses and leading teams of people,” said Scott Pascucci. “Thanks to Brett Hellerman, I was given the opportunity to do all of those things at Concord.
“In 10 years, we have built a company that matters in the music industry, a place that cares about its employees, artists and writers, and that is well positioned for the future. I am proud of all that we have accomplished. I look forward to continuing on the board of directors, to help guide the company forward under Bob’s leadership, while also having more time to focus on my interests in film and social impact initiatives.”
Pascucci added: “I truly appreciate the unwavering support and guidance of Jon Rotolo, Steve Smith and Alex Thomson, and the exceptional commitment of the entire Concord team. I would also like to express my sincere thanks to Tom Whalley and Jake Wisely, both for sharing the vision for Concord and for agreeing to join me as founding members of the new Concord advisory board."
Bob Valentine said: “I have had the privilege of helping to build Concord into the company that it is today ever since Norman Lear and his business partner Hal Gaba had the extraordinary foresight to buy a small, independent jazz record label in the same year that Napster was invented. The journey since then has been scary, thrilling, surprising and incredibly rewarding. Scott has led Concord through an immense amount of growth and change over the last decade, and I couldn’t be prouder of the company that he and Tom have helped to flourish. I’m excited to lead Concord’s next chapter, and I’m happy that Scott and Tom will continue to provide their insights and advice along the way.”
I’m excited to lead Concord’s next chapter
Bob Valentine
Tom Whalley said: “From the very beginning of my career, I have always been attracted to artists who have a really strong point of view, have a vision for themselves and have something important to say. I believe that when you sign an artist you must have a shared vision, long-term commitment to development and conviction to continually support that artist’s career. The same core values hold true for a start-up label.
“In 2014, I found a great partnership with Scott Pascucci and Concord. That partnership helped build a very important independent label, Loma Vista Recordings. It has been an added bonus to serve as the chief label officer for frontline labels at Concord. I am very proud of what we have accomplished.
“Concord Label Group Services has built an incredibly strong global platform to support our very talented, eclectic rosters. From top to bottom, in every department, we have extremely passionate, experienced executives in marketing support, promotion, finance and business affairs. They do incredible work every single day.”
Pascucci joined Concord in 2013 when Bicycle Music and Wood Creek Capital acquired Concord Music Group. Prior to Concord, he was on the board of directors of Bicycle Music. Previous executive roles include president of Rhino Entertainment/Warner Strategic Marketing and co-chair of Frank Sinatra Enterprises.
Valentine was CFO at Concord from 2005 to 2021, when he was named president.
Whalley is a music industry veteran who worked with acts including Metallica, Green Day, Red Hot Chili Peppers, REM, Linkin Park, Josh Groban and Madonna. In 2012, after leaving Warner Bros. Records, he founded Loma Vista Recordings, a venture with Universal Music Group’s Lucian Grainge and Republic Records, before taking the label to Concord in 2014.
Loma Vista has released albums by St. Vincent, Little Dragon, Ghost, Manchester Orchestra, Soundgarden, Iggy Pop, Korn, Denzel Curry, Local Natives, Margo Price, Soccer Mommy, Sylvan Esso, Killer Mike and many more.
Shortly after Loma Vista joined Concord, Whalley agreed to lead Concord’s frontline labels as chief label officer. In this role, Whalley focused on the expansion of Concord Label Group’s global marketing and A&R platform, and supported the development of the label’s artist rosters.
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