John Strohm Named Rounder Records President

Rounder Records, a division of Concord Music, has named John Strohm as President of the American roots label. Strohm will oversee management of Rounder’s day-to-day operations in Nashville, reporting to Concord Music’s Chief Label Officer, Tom Whalley. Former Rounder president, John Virant will remain in a senior creative role, working closely with Strohm and the Rounder staff.

Strohm joins Rounder Records from Loeb & Loeb LLP, where, as Senior Counsel in their Music Industry practice since 2011. Strohm played a leading role in developing the careers of clients Bon Iver, Sturgill Simpson, Alabama Shakes, Dawes, Julien Baker, The Civil Wars and many others. In his multi-faceted career in the music industry, Strohm brings a wealth of experience in music publishing, recording, distribution and emerging media.

Strohm’s career in music began when the aspiring songwriter and musician left his hometown of Bloomington, Indiana to attend Boston’s Berklee College of Music in the mid ’80s. After meeting fellow music obsessives Juliana Hatfield and Freda Love, Strohm formed the beloved college rock band Blake Babies, who released their 2001 album God Bless The Blake Babies for Rounder’s Zoë imprint. He went on to play drums and guitar in The Lemonheads and released a string of well-regarded solo albums. Strohm left professional music to attend law school, graduating Magna Cum Laude in 2004 from Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham, Alabama, where he served as Editor-In-Chief of the Cumberland Law Review.

Rounder Records has helped shape American roots music for 47 years. Its outstanding artist roster includes Steve Martin, Béla Fleck, Abigail Washburn, Sarah Jarosz, I’m With Her (Sara Watkins, Sarah Jarosz, and Aoife O’Donovan), Chris Hillman, Pokey LaFarge, George Thorogood, Sierra Hull, Raffi, Jerry Douglas, Earls of Leicester, The Time Jumpers and the late, great Gregg Allman, among many others.