NEW
YORK (Verve Music) The
Verve Music Group, a subsidiary of Universal
Music Group, the world's leading music company, has expanded into the
burgeoning and often overlooked Adult Contemporary market with the
re-launching of the famed Forecast label, the original home to many of
music's most acclaimed singer songwriters. The announcement was made
today by Ron Goldstein, President and CEO of the
Verve Music Group.
Formed
in 1967, Forecast (originally Folkways) burst onto the scene by
introducing some of the era's most important artists to the
record-buying public, including
Laura Nyro, Tim Hardin, Richie Havens,
The Blues Project, and the
Velvet Underground, among others.
Over
the last several years, the adult contemporary music market has grown,
with increasing record sales and a nation-wide radio audience that has
swelled to over 20 million.
"Our expansion into adult
contemporary is a natural evolution for us," stated Goldstein. "Verve
has enjoyed great crossover success with jazz projects including Diana
Krall,
Linda Ronstadt,
Aaron Neville,
Lizz Wright and most recently,
Jamie Cullum and with the innovative 'Verve Remixed' albums. It is our
belief that that audience that is buying music by these artists as well
as by Norah Jones,
Josh Groban and
Rod Stewart is hungry for more. Our
staff is focused and well-positioned to take advantage of traditional
and non-traditional marketing opportunities. We are excited about the
re-launch of Forecast and we look forward to continuing the original
Verve label's tradition of fostering great talent at a time when music
lovers are re-embracing the true artistry of the genre in droves."
The
Verve Forecast imprint will be home to all non-jazz artists signed under the
Verve Music Group umbrella.
Blues
rocker Susan Tedeschi, Rhett Miller of the Old 97s, Teddy Thompson,
Sacramento-based singer/songwriter Jackie Greene and
Chiara Civello are
among the first acts to sign to the newly-reactivated label. Three-time
GRAMMY-nominee Tedeschi released a trio of critically-acclaimed and
commercially successful albums and is preparing to begin work on her
Verve Forecast debut, which Don Was is slated to produce. Tedeschi is
managed by Macklam/Feldman Management (Diana Krall, Norah Jones, Elvis
Costello, Joni Mitchell). Brazilian Girls are a quartet with deep roots
in New York's burgeoning Lower East Side music community. The group,
which draws on electro, dub, pop, punk and dance music to create their
eclectic sound, was recently described by The New York Times' Jon
Pareles as "catchy, musically ambitious, proudly theatrical" and
"irresistible." Brazilian Girls' eponymous debut album will be released
in February of 2005. The group is managed by
David Whitehead, who
counts
David Byrne and
David Bowie among his other clients.
In
addition to
Verve Forecast, the
Verve Music Group is comprised of the
premier jazz label Verve, whose roster includes legends such as Herbie
Hancock and Wayne Shorter as well as rising stars Roy Hargrove and
Regina Carter; vocalists Diana Krall,
Natalie Cole, Shirley Horn and
Lizz Wright; GRP Records, which houses a stellar roster of contemporary
instrumental artists, and Impulse!, the catalog label and home to John
Coltrane.
