British Music Industry
John Hornby Skewes is the founder and president of John Hornby Skewes Company Ltd, a noted music wholesaler located in England, which was established in the early 1960s. John is also one of the pioneers of the Music Industry Association in the UK and the British Music Fair. He is an industry...
George Osztreicher pioneered importing and exporting guitar and violin strings in the United Kingdom back in the 1960s. He formed British Music Strings after working for General Guitar Strings and Cardiff Music Strings. He soon discovered he could have a business based completely on exporting. The...
Andrew Kemble’s grandfather established the Kemble Piano Company and started a family tradition that Andrew carries on today. The pianos became an important product within the European market and the company was respected for conveying family values not only in their interviews but in their...
Terry Hope and Simon Gilson represent more than the new era of powerhouse music retailers in the world, they represent a refreshingly new approach to old and standard methods of selling. As founders of the Professional Music Technology (PMT) chain of stores, Simon and Terry speak with pride about...
Michael Doughty can speak of the history of the British music industry more than most. After all, it was his father and his grandfather before him who first started selling musical instruments over 100 years ago. As president of Stentor Music Company, Mr. Doughty recalled his teen years and the...
David Briggs is a great example that not everyone in the music products industry enters into it because of their passion for music. David’s passion is business, and he has developed one of the strongest retail chains in the UK, Dawson’s Music. Mr. Briggs noted, “Looking for ways to improve what we...
Gavin Mortimer spoke with great understanding of the current challenges the music industry faces. He observed with a brilliant insight that changes such as the advent of Internet are not unlike challenges that the industry has faced head on, time and time again. As president of Headline Music Ltd...
David Seville loved the music industry because he loved music! He was born in Birmingham UK and became a well-known opera singer both in recordings and such live performances as Wells Cathedral. During our interview, he recalls his transition from singing to a long and enjoyable career with Selmer...
Larry Westland set out to give a few music students a chance to play. He worked long and hard to gain support to create the Music for Youth School Programs in the UK, which was established in 1971. During enrollment in the Fall 2005 program, the two millionth student got the chance to make music....
Midge Ure was on stage for the two largest musical events in the World! As co-founder of Live Aid in 1985 and Live 8 in 2005, Midge created the venue to raise millions of dollars to feed the hungry all over the planet. In 1984, he wrote what became the anthem to this cause, “Feed the World, Do They...