Fearless Records Founder, Bob Becker, Launches New Label THRILLER RECORDS signing Seattle Five-Piece AVOID

Bob Becker, the mastermind and founder of world-renowned alternative rock label, Fearless Records has today announced the launch of a brand new record label, Thriller Records. A brand new venture centred around artist-friendly deals, long-term development and creating the rising stars of tomorrow. With a broad range of artists from a widely diverse spectrum of genres and backgrounds, Becker’s passion for discovering and nurturing new talent is stronger than ever. Joining him in the new venture are former Fearless partner John Perenchio, Thriller Records Label Manager Nick Moore (founder of InVogue Records) and former Fearless Records President/Chief Marketing Officer, Jenny Reader. Thriller Records can also reveal that they’ve signed an exclusive global distribution agreement with ADA Music Worldwide.

The Thriller Records team’s mission is simple – to bring the energy and ability to pivot of an indie, with the muscle of a team of seasoned industry innovators able to break new talent centred around a diverse but focused roster of rock and alternative artists. The first signing to the label is fast-rising Seattle five-piece AVOID who dropped the brand new music video for track “HostAge At A BeAch House PArty” today. Having already solidified a loyal fanbase in the Pacific Northwest, the band rapidly gained traction in 2020 as a SiriusXM Octane Accelerator Artist To Watch, with almost 1,000 spins and counting of single “Song About James” and support from Seattle’s KISW. Lifelong NASCAR fans, the band also pioneered a partnership with NASCAR that included a sponsorship with Xfinity Series driver Joe Graf Jr, securing two of their tracks and an AVOID car within official video game NASCAR HEAT 5.

Speaking on his new venture, Becker shares “I’ve always believed the artists and the fans need to be at the center of anything we do. We need to advocate for them and for the creators, empowering them to be able to create on their terms, taking our years of experience and combining it with a fresh approach to what an independent label should look like in 2021 and beyond – an entity embracing the way music is now discovered and consumed, and running with it.”

Bob Becker started Fearless Records in 1992. He is the man behind signing and nurturing some of the biggest names in rock/punk. From the label’s inception in 1992 when he would sell local OC punk band’s records out the back of his trunk at shows through discovering and signing acts like At The Drive-In And Portugal.The Man, signing and releasing Plain White Ts and their landmark album ‘All That We Needed’ with the hit single “Hey There Delilah” and more recently, I DON’T KNOW BUT THEY FOUND ME who had a #1 Alternative track, “Leave Me Alone”. He’s the man behind signing massively successful acts like Mayday Parade, The Maine, Motionless In White, Breathe Carolina, I Prevail, The Word Alive and Pierce The Veil. He also reinvigorated the careers of the likes of August Burns Red, Underoath and Ice Nine Kills signing them to Fearless and leading the former two to Grammy nominations and the latter to their first significant radio success and a huge sales increase. He’s also the mastermind behind the multi-million selling “Punk Goes…” compilation series which spawned 17 releases over almost 2 decades.

Becker became Chairman Emeritus of Fearless at the end of 2018 following the sale of Fearless Records to Concord, still remaining close with the label and signings including the signing of The Offspring to Concord Records, gaining a #1 rock song in 2021. Bob concludes “When we sold Fearless Records to Concord Music Group five years ago, I never expected that one day I would be starting over but sometimes things just change – and that’s something you need to embrace.The one thing that hasn’t changed though is the willingness to take risks and believe in myself.”