Grand Central Publishing has launched the Da Capo imprint, which will be focused on publishing books about music. The imprint is a reincarnation of Da Capo Press, the longtime music publisher acquired as part of Hachette Book Group’s 2016 acquisition of the Perseus Book Group, which was folded into Hachette Books in 2018. The Hachette Books imprint was dissolved last year as part of restructuring efforts at HBG.
Editors from across Grand Central will now acquire for the imprint, which will be led by Brant Rumble, who has been named editorial director for nonfiction, and Ben Schafer, tapped as executive editor. The duo—based in New York and Los Angeles, respectively—have acquired a number of books over the past several years by and about major musical figures as Peter Frampton, Rob Halford, Robert Hunter, Mark Lanegan, Bernie Taupin, Nikki Sixx, and Stevie Van Zandt. The majority of those titles, which were acquired for the Hachette Books imprint, will move over to Da Capo, although some will be housed in the Grand Central list.
“We are excited to curate a renewed frontlist—and capitalize on an extensive backlist—that includes a wide range of artists, genres, and literary approaches that deliver to readers a deeper understanding of the music that they love,” said Rumble, in a statement.
Da Capo will publish approximately 12 titles per year, with its inaugural list slated for this summer. Among its first titles are Audrey Golden’s biography of the Raincoats, Shouting Out Loud; Nate Jackson and Daniel Kohn’s history of punk rock Tearing Down the Orange Curtain; Barry Mazor’s Blood Harmony: The Everly Brothers Story; and Dennis McNally’s countercultural history The Last Great Dream. Bill Janovitz’s The Cars: Let the Stories Be Told is slated for a fall publication. Backlist titles include David Browne’s musical history of the year 1970, Fire and Rain; Bob Mehr’s biography of the Replacements, Trouble Boys; and the memoir I Am Brian Wilson, by the Beach Boys cofounder.
And yes, the backlist music titles will primarily move over to the Da Capo list although some will move to the Grand Central list. The backlist was originally acquired for the Hachette Books imprint, which was absorbed into Grand Central Publishing beginning in January 2025.
“Da Capo has a long tradition of publishing books for people to whom music is far more than a passive listening experience,” said Schafer, in a statement. “For the Da Capo reader, music is a way of life and a cornerstone of one’s sense of identity. It is a link to broader traditions of subcultures and, as I’ve said many times in-house since I first joined the company in 2002, we make ‘books for people who dress like the music they listen to.’ I’m thrilled to revive Da Capo as an imprint of GCP.”