The indie label legend and founder of Century Media Records passed away January 20, 2014.
Oliver Withöft was born in Dortmund, German in 1964. He studied linguistic, history and business in Germany and the U.K.. When his best friend Robert Kampf started Century Media Recods to support Robert’s own band Despair, Oliver Withöft joined as his partner to lead the company.
25 years after its inception, the record label founded by this friendship has around 100 people on its payroll. It has been home to many musicians, including Lacuna Coil, Shadows Fall, Suicide Silence, In This Moment, Otherwise, Iced Earth, Die Broilers, Arch Enemy and Heaven Shall Burn.
Oliver Withöft was not only the strategic, financial, and legal mind behind Century Media Record, but also a forward-thinking leader. He was one of the first persons to adapt to the rapid-changing 90’s music industry. Antje Lange, CEO of Century Media Records, remembered: “He was one of the most open-minded and knowledgeable persons I have ever met.”
After falling ill several month ago, Oliver Withöft passed away on January 20, 2014. He was 49.
His co-founder of Century Media Records, Robert Kampf, remembered him:
I have lost my best friend of 32 years and my business partner of 24. Although the unthinkable already happened three days ago, I am still in a state of utter shock. Oliver Withöft leaves a space that cannot be filled for all who held him dear. He was a tremendous father, husband, son and friend and will be terribly missed. I will always treasure him in my heart as the witty, brilliant and altogether great person he was. Farewell Oliver, see you on the other side and in our next life. Your brother, Robert
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