Veteran A&R executive Pete Ganbarg has launched a joint venture with Atlantic Records for his Pure Tone Records label.
The move means that Ganbarg is stepping aside from his role as Atlantic’s President of A&R, a position he has held since 2018. He will continue to A&R select artists on the Atlantic Music Group roster, including twenty one pilots, Shinedown, Gayle, Halestorm, and others.
The first artist signed to Pure Tone is Canadian singer/songwriter Forest Blakk, whom Ganbarg originally signed to Atlantic.
Ganbarg joined Atlantic in 2008 as Executive Vice President of A&R and was named President of A&R in 2018, overseeing A&R for Atlantic and its subsidiary labels.
He has signed and/or guided recordings by Grammy winners such as twenty one pilots, Halestorm, and Jason Mraz; platinum and multi-platinum artists Christina Perri, Melanie Martinez, Skillet, Brett Eldredge, Matchbox Twenty & Rob Thomas, Theory of a Deadman, and Icona Pop; and many others.
Ganbarg is also cited by Atlantic as being instrumental in the label’s recent success in the Broadway arena, including co-signing and A&R’ing the diamond-certified Original Broadway Cast Recording of Hamilton.
He won Grammy Awards as a producer of the Original Broadway Cast Recordings of Dear Evan Hansen and Jagged Little Pill.
Ganbarg also co-produced the Grammy-winning, No. 1 soundtrack of The Greatest Showman and was recently nominated for a Grammy for his work on the soundtrack to original Amazon Prime Video series, Daisy Jones & The Six.
In addition, he has recently overseen the Broadway cast recordings for this season’s Tony-nominated shows, Suffs and The Notebook.
Ganbarg originally formed Pure Tone Music prior to joining Atlantic, working with the likes of Kelly Clarkson, Daughtry, Chaka Khan, Santana, Train, Aaron Neville, Donna Summer, and others.
He also operates a pair of publishing joint ventures with WMG’s Warner Chappell Music. Its writers have achieved multiple gold and platinum certifications, including the 2024 Grammy-winning Record of the Year, Miley Cyrus’ Flowers.
Ganbarg began his A&R career in 1989 at SBK Records. In 1997, he joined Clive Davis at Arista Records, where, as Senior Director of A&R, he conceived and A&R’d Santana’s 30x platinum worldwide, nine-time Grammy-winning Supernatural.
“The formation of Pure Tone is an important event for Pete and Atlantic, as he brings his decades of experience, his impeccable taste, and great ears to steering his own ship, and we’re thrilled to be his partners on this exciting next phase of his musical journey.”
Atlantic Music Group Chairman & CEO Julie Greenwald and Atlantic Records Chairman & CEO Craig Kallman, said: “For the past 16 years, Pete has brilliantly led our A&R mission – discovering, signing, and championing a genre-crossing array of hit artists, while also boosting our theatrical presence with a string of award-winning cast albums.
“At the same time, he’s mentored and built a fantastic A&R team who are expert at nurturing baby acts and superstars alike.
“The formation of Pure Tone is an important event for Pete and Atlantic, as he brings his decades of experience, his impeccable taste, and great ears to steering his own ship, and we’re thrilled to be his partners on this exciting next phase of his musical journey.”
“I’m looking forward to making Pure Tone a home for exceptional, original talent, and at the same time, I’m very happy to continue to work with my amazing Atlantic artist roster.”
Pete Ganbarg
Ganbarg added: “The launch of Pure Tone Records as a standalone label is an exciting moment for me.
“It’s the best of both worlds – a golden opportunity to run my own shop, while at the same time having the backing of the outstanding Atlantic team who I’ve worked with so closely over the past 15-plus years.
“I’m looking forward to making Pure Tone a home for exceptional, original talent, and at the same time, I’m very happy to continue to work with my amazing Atlantic artist roster. I want to thank Julie and Craig for their tremendous support over the years, and for having the faith to join me in this new adventure.”Music Business Worldwide
