Concord Music has bulked up its musical theater repertoire with the acquisition of the Tams-Witmark Music Library.
Founded in 1925, Tams-Witmark represents over 120 titles from acclaimed writers such as Cole Porter, George and Ira Gershwin, Cy Coleman, and Jule Styne.
These include music from shows such as Anything Goes, Bye Bye Birdie, You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown, The Wizard Of Oz (pictured), Crazy For You, 42nd Street and Gypsy.
Concord’s other investments in musical theater include The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization – acquired as part of its $500m+ buy of Imagem Music Group last year – plus The Musical Company joint venture with The Really Useful Group, and the Marvin Hamlisch theatrical legacy.
Longtime Tams-Witmark President Sarge Aborn will continue to manage the company’s catalogue of shows, as he has for the previous 36 years.
Concord Music’s Chief Publishing Executive, Jake Wisely commented, “Sarge and the team at Tams have stood with Concord from the inception of our theatrical music business, which began with Marvin Hamlisch’s music to A Chorus Line and now includes rights to an astonishing array of musicals and legendary composers.
“It only seems appropriate that we now get to collaborate in Concord’s development of a world class theatrical company, in lockstep with our thriving publishing and recorded music businesses.”
“Sarge and the team at Tams have stood with Concord from the inception of our theatrical music business, which began with Marvin Hamlisch’s music to A Chorus Line and now includes rights to an astonishing array of musicals and legendary composers.”
Jake Wisely, Concord Music
Sarge Aborn said, “After functioning as a family business for four generations, we would entrust our legacy only to a company with vision, a strong commitment to musical theatre and an appreciation of our brand. We found all of those qualities in Concord. I am very excited that Tams-Witmark will be under the same umbrella as The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization, and that Tams will have an association with The Musical Company.
“I see a bright future for Tams-Witmark enriched by the energy and enthusiasm of Steve, Scott and Jake, and I am proud to be a part of it. I want to thank Lisbeth Barron for introducing us to Concord and for guiding us through this process.”
“As we expand our theatrical licensing business, I can think of no better person to have on our team than Sarge Aborn,” added Concord Music CEO Scott Pascucci.
“His unmatched knowledge and experience will be integral in maintaining and building upon the already wonderful catalog of Tams-Witmark. We are very happy to welcome the Tams-Witmark team into our family.”
The Tams-Witmark acquisition was managed and negotiated for Concord Music by Steven Salm, Chief Business Development Officer and Barron International Group, LLC, the exclusive financial advisor to Tams-Witmark in this transaction.Music Business Worldwide
