Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Now, I was singing along to that, but luckily the microphone was closed or you'd all be turning off your radios. That's one of my favourite tracks to listen to on vinyl. That is Bruce Springsteen with Born to Run. The music industry has shifted from selling physical albums from vinyl to cassettes and CDs to now mostly streaming creators, playlists and even AI DJs.
A transformation that requires a fundamental re-evaluation of how music is marketed, distributed and consumed to help us delve into the changes in how music is sold and listened to. I'm joined now by Chris Keeler. Chris is a veteran of the Irish music industry and a career spanning over 30 years with the likes of Virgin Megastore, HMV... and Warner Music.
He worked on big projects with the likes of Fleetwood Mac and Pink Floyd and from those experiences he learnt the power of vinyl of which he is a big champion. Chris is now the General Manager Commercial and Digital at Anthem and Chris joins us from our Limerick studio. Morning Chris. Morning, David. Thanks for having us on.
Chapter 2: What is the evolution of the music industry from vinyl to streaming?
Oh, no, thanks a million for joining us. Before we start talking about vinyl and why it's making a bit of a comeback and your own involvement, tell us a little bit about your background, Chris, because you have been in the music business for decades.
Yeah, I suppose when I left school, I did work experience in the Virgin Megastore and I got a full-time job there for about six years. So I would have learned the ropes from, I suppose, the stockroom out onto the floor to start buying records and CDs. And yeah, all that experience is very useful today. So from Virgin, I would have moved on to...
managing independent record stores in Ratmines and places around Dublin, and then worked for HMV and Warner Music. So quite a long few decades in the music industry and at different stages of, I suppose, being on one side of the counter as a buyer and on the other side as a selling into record stores.
Yeah, and you were involved in singles, which at the time, back in the 90s, were a big thing, weren't they? Huge, yeah, sure.
You couldn't stream songs at the time, so you would have been selling a lot of cassette singles and CD singles and EPs by bands. So, yeah, at the time, I suppose you would have had a lot of...
artists at number one for a long time like Bryan Adams and Wet Wet Wet so my job was relatively easy like you just keep stocking the same thing but you know all the while there was a lot of independent music getting released which was my main interest.
Yeah and you were involved in trying to flog Oasis' first couple of singles which didn't actually sell very well did they?
They didn't, no. I think the first one was Shaker Maker and went on from there. I think the next few didn't sell and then definitely maybe it was released in September of 1994, I think it was. And then by the time...
the other singles came out from what's the story morning glory everyone was going back to the original definitely maybe singles because that's where you could buy the b-sides and the extra tracks and they weren't available on any other record or cd at the time so i think at one point there was about seven or eight singles in the top 30 from definitely maybe and what's the story yeah and a big thing in those days chris um
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Chapter 3: How has Chris Keena's background shaped his perspective on vinyl?
Not a chance.
How do we compare to other European countries? Is vinyl more of a thing here than elsewhere?
I think UK last year, there was, I think, six, seven million units sold. Last year here, there was about half a million. So probably like, I don't know, 10% of the population are there in both countries. So we're in line with the UK. I'd say we're well above some of the European countries like Spain and Portugal.
Thankfully, we have a bunch of record stores here, 45 out of them, including Golden Disc, HMV, but then the big ones in Dublin like Terrence, Spin Dizzy and Music Zone. Steamboat and Limerick and Chivago and Galway really pushing vinyl, probably the biggest selling format in these stores. So they contribute hugely to that half a million sales last year.
And I think that's going to grow again this year. Right.
And Anthem Vinyl, which you established last year, I think you're the general manager. I mean, what is it about it? Do bands want to be on vinyl?
Yeah.
They do, yeah. I think it's, I suppose there's two routes to market for vinyl. There's the band's online store or their band camp store and then it's the record store. So in both cases, the bands would make more money out of both of those routes than they would out of digital streaming. That's the first thing. You know, we press three, five hundred, a thousand, two thousand records for a band.
Typically they'll sell 50, 60 percent of that in their online store and on their merchandise stall at the gigs. And then we give some to the retailer as well. So we set up Anthem specifically to be a pressing plant, but also a distributor to record stores. And we also do the fulfillment for the online sales for the bands as well. So the bands don't really have to do anything with the vinyl.
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