For what it is worth...

[Thomas W. Bethe]

Concord Music Group purchased Telarc Records three years ago.
Concord initiated a company-wide restructuring in December 2008.
Twenty-seven Telarc employees were layed-off in December, including the entire Telarc Production Department.
As part of the Concord restructuring plan, Telarc project production is being out-sourced.

Too bad Telarc was one of the best. I guess Concord Music Group needed the name recognition more than they needed the people who gave the company that name recognition.

This is NOT good news.

[matyas]

No, this isn't good news at all. Coming on the heels of Telarc's large number of Grammy nominations, this is especially sad. Telarc is one my personal favorite labels, and I've always felt that their releases were pretty much the gold standard for excellence in sound. They had also been one of the few U.S. labels to work extensively in DSD and to release SACDs, and I do hope that Concord will continue to promote the format.
Does anyone know who will be working on their future releases? Is their a possibility that the key staff will form some kind of independent production team - kind of like what happened with Philips Classics becoming Polyhymnia?

[Plush]

There was an announcement that the same team will be working on the Telarc releases.
Each of them formed a new company and said that production will continue as before.

I don't know if they mentioned SACD or DSD.

Selling your company to Concord made it automatic that this would happen. I predicted this result here on GS. I am sorry that the prediction came true.

It sounds like the same people with the same expertise as always will be dong the work.
It's just that there will be more scrambling as people run their own little companies.

I have no doubt that their reputation will carry them.

[fifthcircle]

I've also heard rumblings around the net that Telarc's production team is starting a new company... Perhaps this company will be the group that Telarc's work will be outsourced to.

One can hope and perhaps Michael Bishop will chime in here...

--Ben

[Thomas W. Bethe]

From a news release.


Five/Four Productions, Ltd.
Announces Grammy®-Winning Production Team Lineup
Innovative Producers & Engineers to Carry
Famed Cutting-Edge Sound into the Future
February 2009 CLEVELAND: Fourteen Grammy®Awards for Production, Engineering and
Performance excellence. Multiple music industry awards and international recognition. Three
decades of rave reviews by the world’s toughest critics and publications. Hundreds of major
music releases by some of the world’s most renowned musicians and performers across multiple
genres. Inventive use of “cutting-edge” production techniques and audio technology that carried
the famed “Telarc Sound” into the twenty-first century. These are but a few of the impressive
credentials being brought to Five/Four Productions, Ltd., an independent audio production
team recently formed in Cleveland, Ohio. Michael Bishop, Robert Friedrich, Bill McKinney and
Thomas Moore, all former key production members of Telarc Records, have created a unique
team of audio specialists with Grammy®-winning experience across multiple music genres.
Telarc Records, a classical, jazz and blues label (now owned by Concord Music Group),
successfully branded an identity where consumers always know what they are buying: superior
music releases with state-of-the-art sound and production - the Best of the Best. Largely
responsible, in-part, for continuing the “Telarc Sound” over the past twenty years, the Five/Four
Productions team members represent today’s Best of the Best in audio production and technical
innovation. Bringing unparalleled music industry experience, Five/Four Productions quality is
now readily available to artists, labels and projects worldwide. Five/Four Productions will also
continue many audio production duties for the Telarc/HeadsUp labels and various Concord
Music Group projects on an independent basis.
When asked why anyone would start a production company in these difficult economic times,
Five/Four’s Michael Bishop replied, “What better time to offer the services of the best audio
production team in the business? The artists’ need to make recordings isn’t going away, but
everyone is looking to work smarter with watching budgets more closely than ever. There’s little
room for taking chances with a less-experienced recording crew. The Five/Four team has
decades of experience working at the highest professional level on hundreds of costly and critical
projects, all under the scrutiny of a worldwide audience. We’ve developed efficient production
techniques that bring in the finished product on-time every time and within budget. It just makes
sense to employ our experience on any project where every moment and every dollar counts.
Thom Moore adds, “Why make a good recording when you can make a GREAT recording?”
As to the origin of the Five/Four name, Rob Friedrich says, “At first we had five partners
working for production. Circumstances reduced that number to four, hence 5/4. Also, the
uncommon 5/4 time signature made famous by the Dave Brubeck Quartet in the 1959 jazz hit,
Take Five, seemed to fit us well especially with having worked with Dave Brubeck on so many
projects. Bill McKinney comments, “5/4 is also twenty-five percent better than perfection!”
Continued on Page Two
NEWS RELEASE – For Immediate Release
Contact: info@fivefourproductions.com Telephone: 510-545-7991
www.Recording.Pro
Five/Four Productions commenced operation January 2009 recording a project with Franz
Welzer-Möst and The Cleveland Orchestra for Deutsche Gramophone. Recent and upcoming
recordings are scheduled with Robert Spano and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra; Martin
Perlman and the Boston Baroque Orchestra; Benjamin Zander and the Philharmonia Orchestra;
Yolanda Kondonassis, Jahja Ling and the San Diego Symphony Orchestra; Paavo Järvi and the
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra; and jazz artists Hiromi Uehara, and John Pizzarelli. Five/Four
Productions is currently booking audio projects of any size or complexity on a worldwide basis.
The Five/Four Productions team specializes in full-service audio production, recording and
mastering for CD, SACD, DVD, Blu-ray, LP, film and game soundtracks, and all music
download formats. Five/Four Productions is fully equipped to handle live and studio sessions,
and simple to complex audio productions including basic project planning, final master
production and manufactured or consumer product. High resolution DSD, PCM and analog
recording technology is available for all recording projects. Five/Four Productions technical
services include recording studio, analog and computer-based audio equipment maintenance,
custom modifications and consultation services in addition to custom home theater and sound
system services.
# # #
Grammy® is a trademark of The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences.
www.Recording.Pro

[matyas]

Actually, it sounds like the situation isn't so bad. It sounds like the engineering team is still going to be making records, and Concord is still going to be releasing them under the Telarc label. 5/4 gets to do projects for other clients, and Concord can focus on marketing and distribution. Could be a lot worse.

[Remoteness]

I agree, this doesn't seem so bad at all.

This opens up a whole new direction for the 5/4 production team.

More projects equals more Grammy nominations for the team.

More power to Michael Bishop et al.

Originally Posted by matyas

Actually, it sounds like the situation isn't so bad. It sounds like the engineering team is still going to be making records, and Concord is still going to be releasing them under the Telarc label. 5/4 gets to do projects for other clients, and Concord can focus on marketing and distribution. Could be a lot worse.

[audio ergo sum]

All the best to them. I'm sure because of th quality work they do they will be able to float.
They are actually late to this development, most other majors closing or outsourcing their production departments many years ago. IIRC:

Philips Classics: --> Polyhymnia (late nineties)
Sony Classics: --> closed ~ 2000
Deutsche Grammophone: --> Emil Berliner Studios (completely independent 2008)
Teldec (Warner) --> closed ~2002 now Teldex studios

who else?

I remember a roundtable years ago at an AES convention. One panelist mentioned it is not the state of the business but the arrival of the controllers / bean counters in the shareholder business world, that sealed the end of production departments. According to him high-end classical music production - with exceptions for Karajan/Callas/3Tenors... - has never been profitable but rather image polishing and personal interest of company leaders.

[hughesmr]

Just got the news here in Cincinnati ....

Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (and Pops) has ratified a new contract with an 11% pay cut for two years, with termination of the recording contract with Telarc.

[Thomas W. Bethe]

I have seen other contractual obligations break down after a few months and I don't know what kind of contract there is between Telarc and 5/4 productions but I have a very bad feeling that as the classical market keeps going down that Concord Music Group will be looking at doing things as cheaply as possible and may start to hire people/companies to do one offs and go for the lowest price consistent with the quality that TELARC has always been known for. Mike Bishop is an amazing engineer and I hope 5/4 productions makes it.

The whole field of classical music is shrinking and even though the major conservatories and schools of music keep turning out amazing graduates there are less and less places for them to be employed as more and more orchestras go belly up and solo careers are only for the most talented and the places they can play are limited.

Columbus Ohio's orchestra as been going away and coming back for years, The RED orchestra in Cleveland, Ohio that was doing well musically had financial problems and had to cease operation after a snow storm forced them to cancel a concert and they could not recover from the loss of revenue.

The overall outlook for the immediate future of classical music is NOT good and is getting worse almost daily.

If you go to classical concerts a majority of the people in attendance are older (over 45) and you very seldom if ever see 21 to 35 year olds at these concerts and these are the people with the most expendable income. (post college pre family)

Schools don't have orchestras anymore and even music appreciation is not taught anymore in primary or secondary schools and if there a budget cuts the first thing that gets cut is anything to do with the arts. Most high schools ONLY have a band so that they can play at the football games and if given a choice would choose the football team over the band in a heartbeat if their was a financing problem and one of them had to be cut.

Maybe under the new leadership in Washington things will change but looking back I kinda doubt that at this stage any thing major will change for the better.

[videoteque]

Originally Posted by Thomas W. Bethe

Maybe under the new leadership in Washington things will change but...

What is happening in the USA is also happening in Europe. Here unfortunately classical music have ALWAYS lived of government helps/grants, which is not good idea as we are now seeing.

Classical music has to find a sustainable market to survive and it won't be easy!!!

[Audiop]

Times are changing but maybe..

- ..there will always be passionate musicians,
- .. always be buildings to perform in,
- ... be people with skill and equipment to record these performances..

If people value the music enough they will pay for it, otherwise the music will live on as an artform anyway.

I don't know, just some spontaneous thoughts on a Thursday afternoon.



/Peter

[audio ergo sum]

Originally Posted by videoteque

What is happening in the USA is also happening in Europe. Here unfortunately classical music have ALWAYS lived of government helps/grants, which is not good idea as we are now seeing.

Classical music has to find a sustainable market to survive and it won't be easy!!!

Classical music has NEVER flourished or survived based on its market value alone. But it needs SOME market, true.

It can't and shouldn't be treated as a commercial item primarily. It is a cultural heritage of the highest value to mankind. It needs funding to survive.