Fantasy Records
Into the future with Fantasy Records and one record sold
The company is a record label founded by Max and Sol Weiss in San Francisco, USA. In 1951, the label was completed by Galaxy Records, a sub-label of Fantasy Records.
In the early years, mainly jazz records were released. The best-known jazz artists were Gerry Mulligan, Chet Baker and Dave Brubeck, for example. But the records of some folk artists such as Odetta or Allan Ginsberg as well as the comedian Lenny Bruce were also successfully released.
After a personnel change in the distribution of the record company, artists such as the still very well-known band Creedence Clearwater Revival, CCR for short, were also signed. These and other music greats helped the record label to achieve immense success.
The great success of the record label enabled the company to take over many smaller record companies. As a result, the already large customer base grew into an immense customer catalog of many artists and bands, mainly successful in jazz and soul, through which the company was able to build up a huge financial cushion by selling every single record.
In addition, the introduction of the now completely normal CD has enabled many re-releases of the most popular albums to be brought onto the market with relatively high sales.
Artists such as the well-known guitarists Stefan Grossman and John Fahey, as well as thejazz legends Ella Fitzgerald and Little Richard, are part of Fantasy Records' extensive catalog of artists.
The sales figures and success speak for a very successful and glorious record company to this day.
The record label is still a big name in the music industry thanks to the many artists who owe their great careers to this record company. Despite all this, in 2004 the well-known company was sold to a better-known consortium under the leadership of Norman Lear and became Concord Record.
Today, the sales figures of the records sold cannot be compared with those of that time. Much has changed in the recording industry.
With the introduction of the Internet, it is now possible to download certain singles or albums by famous artists individually as so-called I - tunes for a small price. This means that people no longer buy large quantities of singles or albums in music stores, but buy them from the comfort of their own home. This makes it much more difficult and laborious for the music labels, and therefore also for the actual artists, to sell the sound carriers. This is why only the big music companies can continue to exist.
