Photo courtesy of Believe UK(L-R) Paul Trueman (Artist Service Director, Believe), Chris Dashwood (General Manager, Tenace Records), Gary Over (Financial Controller, Tileyard Music), Isabella Evans (Product Manager, Tenace Records), Michael Harwood (Co-President, Tenace Records / Tileyard Music), Cathy Mathalone (Head Of A&R, Tileyard Music), Karishma Anand (Managing Director Of Operations, Believe), Charlie Arme (Co-President, Tenace Records / Tileyard Music), Neil Hughes (Managing Director, Tileyard Music)
Believe UK and Tileyard Music have formed Tenace Records, a new frontline label that will focus on new signings and releases with global digital and physical distribution services.
The venture will be led by Tileyard Music founders Charlie Arme and Michael Harwood as Co-Presidents. Chris Dashwood, who previously served as a Marketing Director at Universal Music Group, joins as General Manager.
Since founding Tileyard Music, Arme and Harwood have accumulated 25 billion streams and worked on projects that delivered four UK No. 1 records. Their roster has included artists who won Ivor Novello, BRIT, MOBO and ASCAP awards.
Meanwhile, Dashwood spent his time at UMG managing catalog campaigns for acts including ABBA, The Beatles and Elton John. Before that, he worked at RCA Records as Marketing Manager,responsible for promoting Bring Me The Horizon’s Platinum albums Sempiternal and That’s The Spirit, as well as Sia’s comeback records 1000 Forms Of Fear / This Is Acting.
At RCA, Dashwood also handled the entire Chess Club Records roster including MØ, Swim Deep, Sundara Karma and Billie Marten.
“We’re delighted to welcome Chris to the team. He brings a great combination of indie mindset and major label international marketing expertise – essential qualities in today’s landscape.”
Michael Harwood, Tileyard Music
Commenting on Dashwood’s appointment, Michael Harwood said: “We’re delighted to welcome Chris to the team. He brings a great combination of indie mindset and major label international marketing expertise – essential qualities in today’s landscape. His tenacity, creative thinking, and proven track record working with a whole host of well-known artists will be invaluable. We’re excited about what we’ll achieve together.”
Manchester guitar-pop band PaleWaves signed on as Tenace Records’ first act. The band has released four studio albums since 2018 and have made festival appearances at Glastonbury and Lollapalooza, along with tours across North America, Europe, Japan and Australia. Pale Waves are scheduled to support Louis Tomlinson on a 26-date European arena tour in March.
Tenace Records will handle new signings and releases with global distribution, both digital and physical. The structure gives artists access to Believe’s distribution network spanning over 50 countries while benefiting from Tileyard’s operations at its London creative hub, which houses more than 150 recording studios across 200,000 square feet.
The marketing operation will include Isabella Evans as Product Manager, while Cathy Mathalone heads A&R with a team that includes KirstyTwiner, TashaiJackson, AgapiMelkonian and AbbieHumphries. Tileyard Music’s Managing Director Neil Hughes and Financial Controller GaryOver will support the venture.
“The existing team comes with a wealth of industry experience, and we’re ready to compete on all levels. I couldn’t be happier to lead the charge and achieve great things in 2026.”
Chris Dashwood, Tenace RecordS
Chris Dashwood said: “What Tileyard and Believe have established with Tenace is a hugely attractive and viable alternative to the current label deals being offered in the market. The existing team comes with a wealth of industry experience, and we’re ready to compete on all levels. I couldn’t be happier to lead the charge and achieve great things in 2026.”
Paul Trueman, Director of Artist Services at Believe UK, said: “We’re delighted to be partnering with Charlie, Michael and the Tileyard Music team on this new joint venture. The Tileyard Music team has an outstanding track record of nurturing creative talent and this partnership brings together their deep industry experience with Believe’s global infrastructure and best-in-class tech and tools.”
“The Tileyard Music team has an outstanding track record of nurturing creative talent and this partnership brings together their deep industry experience with Believe’s global infrastructure and best-in-class tech and tools.”
Paul Trueman, Believe UK
“Tenace Records represents a powerful and forward-thinking addition to the UK label landscape and we’re thrilled to welcome them to the Believe family.”
France-based Believe is a publicly traded company that owns several music brands including Nuclear Blast, naïve, TuneCore, Groove Attack, Sentric, AllPoints and Byond. Artists on its various platforms generated over 800 billion streams in 2024.
Charlie Arme said: “We are thrilled to partner with Believe on Tenace Records. This partnership combines our tenacity with Believe’s global infrastructure and builds on an already successful relationship between Tileyard Music Publishing and Believe Music Publishing.”
“From every meeting and conversation with Alex Kennedy, PaulTrueman, and Karishma Anand, our visions align perfectly. Building on our experience as managers, we understand that today’s success requires both curated A&R and world-class marketing execution, all whilst supporting managers and artists with their vision.”
“Building on our experience as managers, we understand that today’s success requires both curated A&R and world-class marketing execution, all whilst supporting managers and artists with their vision.”
Charlie Arme, Tileyard Music
“We are excited to announce our first signing together: PaleWaves, a band we’ve long respected. They and their manager Paul Smernicki have incredible drive and ambition and represent everything Tenace stands for.”
Cathy Mathalone said: “Our A&R label and publishing team works with a relentless hustle and a global mindset. Our strengths lie in finding exceptional records, curating world-class writing camps, and working with talent to fulfil their potential.”
“Being based at Tileyard Studios gives us access to incredible resources and connections globally. It’s an exciting step forward as the team begins working across Tileyard Music Publishing and Tenace Records, maximizing collaborative opportunities for both rosters.”
“Our strengths lie in finding exceptional records, curating world-class writing camps, and working with talent to fulfil their potential.”
Cathy Mathalone, Tenace Records
The Tileyard Music joint venture marks Believe UK’s latest partnership after the company signed a long-term, global partnership with indie label Bella Union in 2024, covering both new releases and select back catalog titles from the latter company.
The same year, dance music brand fabricentered into a global services partnership with Believe UK, which saw fabric’s music distributed through Believe UK’s b:electronic imprint, a dedicated platform for electronic music.
For Tileyard Music, the news comes over five years since it partnered with Sentric Music Group for the global administration of the Tileyard Music Publishing catalog.
