Universal Music Group (UMG) has announced the creation of the new Verve Label Group and appointed Danny Bennett, manager of his father Tony Bennett, as the new organization’s president and CEO.
Verve, now it its 60th year, is UMG’s American contemporary label and has an active roster featuring such artists as Diana Krall, Mark Knopfler and Sarah McLachlan. It also harbors the reactivated Impulse! label, which recently released albums by John Scofield with Joe Lovano and Kenny Barron as well as acclaimed archival releases like last year’s A Love Supreme: The Complete Masters by John Coltrane.
The new Verve Label Group will also include Verve and UMG’s U.S. classical labels Deutsche Grammophon, Decca Records, Decca Classics and Mercury Classics, in addition to ECM Records, which is distributed by Universal in the U.S.
“The new structure marks UMG’s continued investment in jazz and classical music and the company’s unwavering commitment to building upon its rich history in both genres, while also opening up new opportunities, developing global crossover artists and delivering innovative jazz and classical experiences to fans,” the company said in a press release.
“Universal Music is home to the largest and most historically relevant jazz and classical recordings,” said Bennett. “It’s a tremendous honor, and I am humbled to be chosen to lead the newly formed Verve Label Group.”