EP/48: VINYL 3.0
Next Level Vinyl Collecting with Vinylkey
LISTEN ON: APPLE SPOTIFY STITCHER
One theory explaining the recent comeback in record collecting is that its a backlash against the digitization of music. There’s a new company that is challenging this theory by integrating old school vinyl collections with a hot new digital collectible - NFTs. Vinylkey believes that by merging record collecting with NFTs, they can unlock new opportunities for artists to engage and delight their fans.
Taking us on a tour of Vinylkey are Gar Ragland and Sean Moore. Gar is a producer, musician, and entrepreneur - and the founder and CEO of Citizen Vinyl, a vinyl pressing plant, bar/Café, recording studio and store all on the same site. Sean is an entrepreneur and software engineer with over 30 years of experience who fell into the crypto rabbit hole in 2013 and pulled himself out long enough to rediscover vinyl. We reached them at Citizen Vinyl in Asheville, NC.
About GAR & SEAN
Gar Ragland is a producer, musician, and entrepreneur. He is the founder and CEO of Citizen Vinyl, a music vinyl pressing plant, bar/Café, recording studio and record and art store located in Asheville, NC.
Ragland is also president and co-founder of the NewSong Music Group, an artist development, event production and record label now celebrating its twentieth year.
A native North Carolinian (Winston-Salem), Ragland began his music career while an undergraduate student at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia, sharing bills with acts that include the Dave Matthews Band, Gov’t Mule and the Aquarium Rescue Unit. After working several years in Washington, DC as a researcher for the environmental economic policy think tank Resources for the Future, Ragland relocated to Boston to study composition and improvisation at the New England Conservatory with MacArthur ‘Genius’ Award winning pianist, composer and educator Ran Blake.
In 2020, Citizen Vinyl opened its doors for business. Ragland produces out of Citizen Studios, an analog recording studio located onsite in the historic WWNC radio station studios. Ragland is a voting member of the Recording Academy (Grammys), and currently serves on the board of the Asheville Area Arts Council as its former chair.
Sean Moore is an entrepreneur and software engineer with over 30 years of experience that has been powered by the tunes cranking through his headphones. He fell into the crypto rabbit hole in 2013 and pulled himself out long enough to rediscover IRL physical goods like vinyl albums. In 2021, he also got to enjoy live music again!
Learn about Vinylkey at: vinylkey.com. Check out their whole operation at: citizenvinyl.com and follow them on Instagram @citizenvinyl Follow Gar on Instagram: @gar.ragland
