AceShowbiz - Cody Verdecias, a veteran A&R executive at Atlantic Records, has announced the launch of his new label, Deep Love Recordings, set to become a fresh hub for alternative music. The label, officially created in 2025, operates as a joint venture with Atlantic Music Group and features a diverse roster of emerging artists including the Dallas-based metal hybrid band Empty Shell Casing, modern regional Mexican duo Corridos Ketamina, California deathcore group Rev3rent, and DJ/songwriter/producer FIFI.

The first release under Deep Love came in October of last year, with Empty Shell Casing dropping a pair of singles that marked the label’s entry into the music scene. This move signals Verdecias’s commitment to spotlighting subcultures within alternative music, nurturing artists who represent the evolving sounds appealing to youth culture.

Cody Verdecias has been a crucial figure at Atlantic Records for over a decade, serving as vice president of A&R. Throughout his tenure, he has signed and overseen projects for influential acts such as Turnstile, 100 gecs, Fred again.., and Dylan Brady. Beyond A&R, Verdecias also manages a group of creatives that includes Dahi, Daytrip, Emile Haynie, Lexa Gates, Eartheater, 100 gecs, and Dylan Brady.

Deep Love is a reflection of Verdecias’s passion for alternative music, a genre that has deeply influenced his life and career. Originally from New York and now based in Los Angeles, Verdecias was a member of the New York City hip-hop collective World’s Fair. His connection to alternative music runs in his family, as his uncle is Perry Farrell, frontman of Jane’s Addiction and founder of the Lollapalooza festival. Verdecias recalls summers spent attending Lollapalooza, describing the 1990s festival circuit as a “golden era” for alternative music, hip-hop, grunge, and pop.

“It was a golden era of hip-hop, it was grunge, it was pop,” says Verdecias. “My uncle had this fascination with electronic music really early on in his career. I was like a sponge.” This early exposure to a broad spectrum of genres has guided Verdecias in cultivating a label that embraces diverse alternative sounds.

One of Verdecias’s proudest moments includes Turnstile’s two Grammy wins in 2026, highlighting his ability to identify and nurture groundbreaking talent. With Deep Love, he aims to create a central space that not only signs artists from alternative scenes but also expands their audiences through live events and mini-festivals. He emphasizes the importance of live community experiences, stating, “Becoming a curator in the live space was really important to me.”

Verdecias notes that many alternative subcultures thrive online but often lack real-world connection. “There’s so many subcultures online,” he explains, “that’s amazing and it brings a lot of people together, but it also segregates people, because they don’t make deep connections in real life. Those relationships and feeling like you found a community is why I felt having the label and the live component feed off of each other was so important.”

Deep Love is positioned as a natural extension of Verdecias’s long-standing relationship with Atlantic, which began in 2013. When he joined Atlantic, he requested the freedom to work across all genres, a request granted by label chairman and CEO Craig Kallman. “I said that if you want the best version of myself, I have to sign anything I want,” Verdecias recalls. “He said, ‘I’m going to set you up to do that.’ That’s when I knew that going into a major label, I had an opportunity to really take back the word ‘alternative’ and bring it into a new frontier.”

Atlantic Music Group executives Brandon Davis and Jeff Levin praised Verdecias’s unique ability to connect with artists and creators. In a joint statement, they said, “Cody is a truly unique executive with the ability to connect with artists and creators through his deep understanding of music and culture. We’re honored for Cody and Deep Love to call Atlantic home, and look forward to watching the label flourish under his leadership.”

Verdecias shared insights into what inspired him to start Deep Love. “I’m trying to connect alternative people, and re-establish and take back the word ‘alternative,’” he said. “That’s my mission statement, my life mission, and the mission of Deep Love overall. I think ‘alternative’ is the person seeking liberation through their truest self. This label is about finding new developing scenes of people and giving them resources and opportunities to create at an extremely high level.”

Regarding the label’s genre-spanning approach, Verdecias highlighted the unique opportunity to bring together fans of diverse music styles. “If you are a fan of a genre called screamo, which is one of the more popular genres amongst the youth in the underground now, but you also love electronic music, the chances of your favorite artists in those worlds playing a show together, it doesn’t happen,” he explained. “The kid who’s listening to Bassvictim and also to Dead Butterflies, they have the same artists in their playlist, but they need a space to connect them together even deeper, because who knows what can come from that. These kinds of artists, I’m putting them on the same bill.”

When asked how he balances signing artists between Atlantic’s flagship label and Deep Love, Verdecias described his dual allegiance. “I’m Atlantic through and through, and I’m Deep Love through and through, and to have the ability to still sign stuff to the frontline label while developing and nurturing Deep Love and to be in a position to find a home for everything... I think feels very true to the spirit of this version of Atlantic,” he said. He also expressed strong alignment with Atlantic’s senior leadership, including Zach Friedman, Elliot Grainge, Tony Talamo, Brandon Davis, and Jeff Levin, emphasizing that this synergy is vital for Deep Love’s success in 2026.

The timing of Deep Love’s launch was intentional. Verdecias sees a profound connection between underground music scenes and youth culture across genres like rap, electronic, and rock. “I’m just trying to shepherd everyone,” he said. He also addressed the common skepticism among young artists about record labels. “Sometimes with kids, there’s a stigma with record labels. There are conversations like ‘I don’t need to be signed. I don’t want to be signed.’ I actually think that’s damaging for artists with great potential, who could be in a place in their career, whether it’s the beginning or when they’re more established, that they need help and support because they’re growing. I want to create a label where those artists are like, ‘I feel good about this decision.’”

Looking ahead, Verdecias envisions Deep Love as a comprehensive cultural hub that extends beyond music releases. “Across all of my projects, I feel the opportunities and the doors I’ve opened are not just delivering audio to the label. It goes way deeper,” he explained. “I want to provide an element of being a real hub of culture that’s all-encompassing. If an artist wants to make a film, I know how to get that done. If an artist wants to score a soundtrack, I know how to get that done. If an artist wants to work on a video game, I know how to get to that studio. I can open those worlds and help world-build within them.”

Wrapping up the conversation, Verdecias expressed his current inspiration and hope for the future impact of music. “I feel so inspired by music right now. I don’t know if I’ve ever been more inspired... I think kids want real s-t right now. Everyone does. I really pray that the music will impact the future as it’s intended to, and change kids’ lives. I just love music so much. That was the genesis of the name, asking myself how I’d describe it when I think of music. It was just deep love.”