Craft Recordings

Craft Recordings is a record-label and catalog-management imprint owned by Concord. Established in 2017, it was created to handle reissues and related releases from Concord’s extensive archive of recordings. Its role is broadly comparable to catalog-focused operations such as Universal Music Enterprises, Legacy Recordings, and Rhino Entertainment, although Craft’s catalog is shaped by Concord’s own holdings and the legacy labels incorporated into its business. The imprint combines archival curation with direct-to-consumer retail. Alongside its label activities, Craft operates an online store under the same name, offering deluxe compact-disc and vinyl box sets, standalone albums, and merchandise associated with legacy labels and artists. This model allows the company to serve both collectors seeking premium physical editions and listeners accessing older recordings through digital services. Craft’s first release was a deluxe vinyl edition of Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane’s Complete 1957 Recordings. The choice established a central part of the imprint’s identity: presenting historically important recordings in carefully packaged, collectible formats while making material from Concord’s archives available to new audiences. The imprint’s catalog encompasses numerous labels with distinct histories and musical identities. These include Contemporary, Fania, Fantasy, HighTone, Independiente, Milestone, Musart, Notro, Pablo, Panart, Prestige, Riverside, SLG, Specialty, Stax, Sugar Hill, Takoma, Telarc, Vanguard, Vee-Jay, Victory, and Wind-Up. Craft also serves as a releasing arm for catalog titles originating with Concord’s frontline labels, including Concord Records, Fearless Records, and Rounder Records. Its reissue activity covers jazz, soul, rhythm and blues, rock, alternative music, folk, Latin music, country, and related genres. Artists whose recordings have appeared in Craft reissue programs include Wes Montgomery, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Vince Guaraldi, John Lee Hooker, Little Richard, John Coltrane, R.E.M., Evanescence, The Offspring, and Nine Inch Nails. In addition to standard catalog reissues, Craft has issued previously rare or hard-to-find material connected with Concord artists and its inherited label catalog. Stax has been an especially visible area of activity. In June 2019, Craft digitally reissued numerous albums from the historic Stax soul catalog. It also issued a vinyl edition of Soul Explosion, a two-LP Stax compilation originally released in 1969. The compilation paired well-known label hits with more difficult-to-find tracks, reflecting Craft’s dual emphasis on familiar catalog titles and deeper archival material. Craft also operates through specialized catalog initiatives. In August 2019, its Craft Latino imprint announced reissues of albums from Fania Records by artists including Celia Cruz, Tito Puente, Johnny Pacheco, and Willie Colón. Through these projects, Craft functions not simply as a conventional artist-signing label but as a catalog brand focused on preservation, repackaging, discovery, and long-term exploitation of recorded music assets. Sig Sigworth is identified as the president of Craft Recordings.

Craft Recordings was founded in 2017 by Concord as an imprint dedicated to the company’s recorded-music catalog. Its creation reflected the growing importance of specialist catalog operations within the recorded-music business: rather than concentrating primarily on new artist signings, a catalog imprint organizes, restores, repackages, markets, and redistributes recordings accumulated through acquisitions and long-running label operations. The new imprint was paired with an online store using the Craft Recordings name. The store’s product range included deluxe CD and vinyl box sets, standalone LPs, and merchandise connected with legacy labels and artists. This combination of label and retail functions gave Craft a direct channel for collector-oriented releases and supported the continuing commercial life of physical music formats. Craft’s first release was a deluxe vinyl edition of Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane’s Complete 1957 Recordings. The project aligned the new brand with historically significant jazz repertoire and with the presentation standards associated with premium archival editions. Craft subsequently worked across a much wider range of genres and catalogs, issuing re-releases and rare material connected with artists such as Wes Montgomery, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Vince Guaraldi, John Lee Hooker, Little Richard, John Coltrane, R.E.M., Evanescence, The Offspring, and Nine Inch Nails. The imprint’s scope extends across a substantial group of historic labels associated with Concord. The named portfolio includes Contemporary, Fania, Fantasy, HighTone, Independiente, Milestone, Musart, Notro, Pablo, Panart, Prestige, Riverside, SLG, Specialty, Stax, Sugar Hill, Takoma, Telarc, Vanguard, Vee-Jay, Victory, and Wind-Up. Craft also releases catalog material from Concord’s frontline labels, including Concord Records, Fearless Records, and Rounder Records. Consequently, its output ranges from jazz and soul to rock, alternative, folk, Latin, and other styles. A notable stage in Craft’s development came in 2019 through its work on Stax recordings. On June 26 of that year, the company digitally reissued many albums from the Stax catalog. It also brought Stax’s 1969 Soul Explosion compilation back to vinyl. The two-LP set paired recognizable Stax successes on its first disc with less readily available material on its second, illustrating Craft’s interest in both signature repertoire and deeper catalog discoveries. Craft expanded its Latin catalog activity through Craft Latino. In August 2019, the imprint announced reissues of several Fania Records albums associated with Celia Cruz, Tito Puente, Johnny Pacheco, and Willie Colón. The initiative connected the broader Craft catalog strategy with one of Latin music’s most historically important labels. Craft Recordings is therefore best understood as Concord’s archival and catalog-release brand rather than as a conventional standalone label centered on a single roster. Its business encompasses physical reissues, digital availability, deluxe packaging, rare recordings, and merchandise. Sig Sigworth is identified as its president. The available reference material does not establish a separate headquarters, founder, public listing, or current financial information for the imprint.

• 2019

  Stax digital catalog program

  [1]Craft Recordingsen.wikipedia.org

  Craft digitally reissued many albums from the Stax soul catalog in June 2019.

• 2019

  Soul Explosion returns on vinyl

  [1]Craft Recordingsen.wikipedia.org

  Craft issued a vinyl re-release of Stax’s two-LP Soul Explosion compilation, originally released in 1969.

• 2019

  Craft Latino announces Fania reissues

  [1]Craft Recordingsen.wikipedia.org

  Craft Latino announced reissues of selected Fania Records albums associated with major Latin artists.

• 2017

  Craft Recordings is established

  [1]Craft Recordingsen.wikipedia.org

  Concord founded Craft Recordings as an imprint specializing in reissues and catalog releases, alongside an online store offering physical music products and merchandise.

• 2017

  First release: Complete 1957 Recordings

  [1]Craft Recordingsen.wikipedia.org

  The imprint’s first release was a deluxe vinyl edition of Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane’s Complete 1957 Recordings.

A premium catalog and archival music imprint focused on reissues, deluxe physical formats, digital restoration and distribution, and discovery of recordings from Concord’s historic label portfolio.

• Physical music reissues · 2017

  Deluxe CD and vinyl editions

  Craft produces collector-oriented editions of historic albums and recording projects, including deluxe compact-disc and vinyl packages. These releases are part of the imprint’s effort to make archival repertoire available in premium physical formats.

• Archival music collections · 2017

  Box sets

  The Craft store offers curated multi-disc and vinyl box sets built around significant artists, albums, labels, or periods. Such sets are aimed particularly at collectors and listeners seeking expanded or presentation-focused catalog editions.

• Digital music · 2017

  Digital catalog reissues

  Craft distributes archival recordings digitally, including a broad 2019 reissue program drawn from the Stax catalog. The digital format extends access to older albums beyond the limited quantities typically associated with physical collector editions.

• Soul and R&B catalog · 2019

  Stax catalog releases

  Craft manages and reissues recordings from Stax, one of the historic labels within its portfolio. Activity has included digital album reissues and a vinyl edition of Soul Explosion, combining major Stax hits with harder-to-find tracks.

• Latin music catalog · 2019

  Craft Latino and Fania reissues

  Craft Latino develops reissue activity around Latin music holdings, including Fania Records albums associated with Celia Cruz, Tito Puente, Johnny Pacheco, and Willie Colón.

• 2019

  Expand Stax catalog availability across digital and vinyl formatsProduct launch

  Background

  Craft’s portfolio included the historic Stax soul catalog, creating an opportunity to serve both streaming-oriented listeners and physical-record collectors.

  Action taken

  Craft digitally reissued many Stax albums and released a vinyl edition of Soul Explosion.

  Aftermath

  The program increased the availability of both established Stax repertoire and less commonly encountered tracks.

  Source

• 2019

  Use Craft Latino for Fania catalog reissuesProduct launch

  Background

  Fania Records represented an important Latin music catalog within the wider Concord and Craft portfolio.

  Action taken

  Craft Latino announced reissues of selected Fania albums by Celia Cruz, Tito Puente, Johnny Pacheco, and Willie Colón.

  Aftermath

  The announcement extended Craft’s catalog strategy into a dedicated Latin-music reissue program.

  Source

• 2017

  Create a dedicated Concord catalog imprintStrategy

  Background

  Concord’s extensive collection of historic labels and recordings required a specialist brand for archival release, reissue, and collector-oriented activity.

  Action taken

  Concord established Craft Recordings and paired the imprint with an online store for deluxe physical releases, standalone albums, and merchandise.

  Aftermath

  Craft became the principal catalog and reissue identity for numerous Concord-associated labels and also released catalog material from Concord’s frontline labels.

  Source

1. 1Craft Recordingsen.wikipedia.org