Believe and Tileyard launch Tenace Records with Pale Waves

Believe and Tileyard just launched Tenace Records, stacked it with veterans, signed Pale Waves first, and basically announced they are done waiting their turn in the UK label food chain.

The label launch in plain terms

• Believe UK and Tileyard Music linked up to form Tenace Records.
• The setup is a frontline label aimed at new signings and new releases.
• Distribution is global, digital, and physical, with no half measures.

Who is running the operation

• Tileyard founders Charlie Arme and Michael Harwood stepped in as Co-Presidents.
• Day-to-day control lands with Chris Dashwood as General Manager.
• The leadership mix screams indie instincts plus major-label muscle.

Tileyard’s receipts before Tenace

• Arme and Harwood have been stacking wins since founding Tileyard Music.
• The track record includes 25 billion streams and four UK No. 1 records.
• Artists tied to their projects have picked up Ivor Novello, BRIT, MOBO, and ASCAP awards.

Why Dashwood matters here

• Dashwood came in fresh off a run at Universal Music Group.
• His focus there was on catalog campaigns for ABBA, The Beatles, and Elton John.
• Before that, he handled marketing at RCA Records.

The campaigns on his resume

• At RCA, Dashwood pushed Bring Me The Horizon’s Platinum albums Sempiternal and That’s The Spirit.
• He also worked on Sia’s comeback era with 1000 Forms Of Fear and This Is Acting.
• The Chess Club Records roster was fully under his watch, including MØ, Swim Deep, Sundara Karma, and Billie Marten.

The first artist through the door

• Pale Waves signed on as Tenace Records’ first act.
• The band has released four studio albums since 2018.
• Festival stops include Glastonbury and Lollapalooza, plus global touring.

What Pale Waves has coming up

• The band is set to support Louis Tomlinson.
• The run covers a 26-date European arena tour in March.
• It is a loud way to kick off a new label chapter.

How the label actually works

• Tenace handles signings and releases from the ground up.
• Artists tap into Believe’s distribution network across more than 50 countries.
• Tileyard backs it all from its London creative hub.

Why the building matters

• Tileyard’s London base houses more than 150 recording studios.
• The footprint spans roughly 200,000 square feet.
• Operations, creativity, and A&R all live under one roof.

The marketing and A&R bench

• Isabella Evans steps in as Product Manager.
• Cathy Mathalone leads A&R.
• The team includes Kirsty Twiner, Tashai Jackson, Agapi Melkonian, and Abbie Humphries.

The internal support layer

• Tileyard Music Managing Director Neil Hughes is involved.
• Financial oversight comes from Gary Over.
• The structure is clearly built to scale, not experiment lightly.

Why Believe is all in

• Believe framed Tenace as a serious addition to the UK label market.
• The company is publicly traded and based in France.
• Its portfolio includes Nuclear Blast, naïve, TuneCore, Groove Attack, Sentric, AllPoints, and Byond.

Believe’s scale flex

• Artists across Believe platforms generated over 800 billion streams in 2024.
• Infrastructure and tech are positioned as the competitive edge.
• Tenace plugs directly into that system.

Why this fits Tileyard’s timeline

• The partnership builds on Tileyard Music Publishing’s existing relationship with Believe Music Publishing.
• Tileyard previously teamed with Sentric Music Group for global publishing administration.
• The move looks more like an escalation than a pivot.

Other Believe UK alliances

• Believe UK partnered with indie label Bella Union in 2024.
• That deal covered new releases and selected back catalog titles.
• The same year, dance brand Fabric joined via a global services partnership.

What Tenace is really signaling

• The label positions itself as an alternative to standard label deals.
• Curated A&R and heavyweight marketing are treated as non-negotiables.
• The pitch is clear, complete everywhere, and do it fast.