Blake Retiring, Goldman Inbound At Concord
• After more than 40 years in the entertainment business — 25 of them representing Concord in an external or internal capacity — Larry Blake has announced his decision to retire at the end of May. Having transitioned last summer to focus on Concord’s Recorded Music business, Blake will be handing the reins to Gregg Goldman as Concord’s new EVP, Business & Legal Affairs, Recorded Music, where he will working hand-in-hand with Chief Label Executive Tom Whalley and Chief Catalog Executive Sig Sigworth, reporting to General Counsel Amanda Molter.
A Harvard Law School graduate, Blake joined Concord Music Group in 2005 as SVP, Legal & Business Affairs, after serving as the company’s outside counsel for 10 years. As Concord expanded, he took on the role of Chief Legal and Business Affairs Officer. Before joining Concord full-time, Blake was a partner at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, where his clients included The Eagles, Cher, The Pixies, Barbra Streisand and The Rolling Stones, as well as Sub Pop Records and Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG).
Blake said, “It has been my great fortune to have been able to combine my legal education with my passion for music, to have been mentored by one of the deans of music lawyers, Lee Phillips, and to have gotten the opportunity to help build Concord from a small jazz label to the indie powerhouse it is today. As much as I have loved working with the great team of people built under the leadership of Scott Pascucci and Glen Barros before him, it’s now time for me to turn my focus to my wife and family, and with Gregg Goldman on board, I can do so guilt-free, knowing that Concord has found the ideal person to replace me.”
Concord General Counsel Amanda Molter commented, “It has been an honor to work with Larry and learn from one of the best in the business. His retirement has been well-earned, and we cannot thank him enough for the hard work that he has devoted to Concord and its artists over the last two and a half decades. At the same time, I’m so pleased that Gregg Goldman has joined the Business & Legal Affairs team as EVP for Recorded Music. Gregg will be working closely with Larry in the coming months and I am confident the transition will be a smooth one.”
Whalley said, “I have had great pleasure working with Larry Blake over the past years. I have immense respect for his contribution in building Concord into the unique and important media company it is today. I wish him the very best in his future life endeavors. I’m impressed with Gregg Goldman’s background, which makes him a perfect fit to represent Concord Recorded Music. I look forward to building the future of Concord Recorded Music with Gregg’s help.” Sigworth added, “Larry Blake’s wisdom, knowledge and guidance has been invaluable to the success of Concord’s Recorded Music division, and we wish him great enjoyment in his retirement. Having worked with Gregg Goldman in the past, I know that his experience and passion will serve us very well, long into the future.”
Goldman started his professional career as a litigation attorney with Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher before following his passion for music into the record business, where he spent 14 years in Business Affairs and Business Development at Sony Music Group and Warner Music Group. He also led Business Development at Seattle’s music-focused Museum of Pop Culture for several years, and most recently helped to build and then managed a Music team within Ticketmaster. Goldman said, “I’m thrilled to join the team Scott has built at Concord, and I look forward to working closely with Tom, Sig and Amanda to help grow and support the business and build upon the foundation Larry has done such a great job of establishing.”
