The Fantasy Records Publicity Files include documents and related materials collected and generated by the Fantasy Records Publicity Department. The materials range from the early days of the company's foundation in the 1950s under the ownership of the Weiss brothers going up to the mid-2000s when Fantasy Records was sold to Concord Music to form the Concord Music Group, an active records company at the time of this publication. This collection provides valuable information for the San Francisco Bay Area-based company and its impact on music on both local and national scales, featuring information about local artists and those cultivated by the various labels acquired by the company over its almost 55 years of operations out of the San Francisco and then Berkeley headquarters. The collection has been arranged in the following series: Administrative Files, Biographies and Photographs, Fantasy Press, and Label Press. The series titles were chosen to match the original arrangement of the materials when they were in active use.

Fantasy Records was founded in 1949 by brothers Max and Sol Weiss, following their purchase of Jack Sheedy's San Francisco-based record label, Coronet. The Weiss brothers, already owners of a records pressing company, combined the endeavors under the name Fantasy Records. Coronet's biggest artist, Dave Brubeck, signed with Fantasy Records promptly thereafter, becoming one of the label's hottest draws, with the company shipping 40,000 to 50,000 copies of Brubeck's records. Believing he had a 50 percent interest in the company as a whole, Brubeck worked as an unofficial artists and repertoire assistant, leading to the signing of performers such as Gerry Mulligan, Chet Baker, and Red Norvo, helping to cement the company's status as a leading label for jazz music. However, when he discovered he only owned 50 percent of his own recordings, Brubeck left Fantasy Records for Columbia Records.

68.0 Linear feet

Museum of Performance + Design holds property rights. All intellectual property rights are held be the individual labels or by Concord Music Group if the label is no longer active.

This collection is open to research. Documents with personal information for individuals still living may be restricted.