Interview: Meet 'The Record Guy' a.k.a. Scott Townsend

Kiss

Through my occupation with blogging I have met many interesting people. One of them is the person that I have the pleasure to present as a guest on the blog.

He has worked in the music business his entire life. He has collected over 250,000 vinyl records, thousands of Music Posters, CD’s and tons of other music related items.
In this interview we can see some of his pictures to check out some of the artists he has worked with and find out what it is like to be around the most popular artists in the world.

Ladies and gentlemen, I am happy to have Scott Townsend with us today!

You have been in the music industry for many years. How did you realise you love music and you want to be a part of it?

My love for music started when I was very young. My parents would tell me it was time for bed. I would ask if I could play “Return To Sender” by Elvis Presley one more time. I went to my first concert when I was 12. I knew that was what I wanted to do for a living.

Posters Gifted To Me By Scott Townsend

　
Are you a fan of a certain kind of music or are you open to any song that you like its sound?

My taste in music has changed over the years. When I was real young I just listened to Pop and Top 40 music (whatever was on the radio). As I got older I leaned more towards Rock and Hard Rock. When I started to work for BMG I was forced to listen to all types of music. We would have new release meetings that lasted all day. We listened to everything from Classical, to Country, to Jazz, to Rap, etc….

　
Would you like to name some of the artists you have met throughout all these years? Who is your favorite?

Kiss, ZZ Top, Cheap Trick, Tool, The Scorpions, AC/DC, Extreme, Ringo Starr, R. Kelly, Toni Braxton, Alan Jackson, Brooks & Dunn, George Jones, Henry Mancini, etc……

Scorpions

Cheap Trick is one of my favorite bands. I am friends with those guys as well.

Rick Nielsen Cheap Trick

　
Was there an artist that made your life difficult?

All artists can be difficult if not treated properly. I learned early on, that there should be no surprises. If you told the artist exactly what was expected and there were no surprises, things generally went smooth. I would say Country artists are the easiest to work with and treat their fans the best.

Brooks & Dunn

　
Which was the most significant moment of your career?

When I started working for BMG we only had 2 records on the Top 200 chart (Yanni & George Winston).When I left BMG to go work for RCA we had 32 records on the Top 200 Chart. The other would be meeting Ringo Starr. That was a big deal ! He is a Beatle !

　
What about the new generation? Is there an artist you admire?

Music has changed to more of a song based thing, than an artist driven thing. There are less and less long term artists who produce several albums and are around for awhile. Taylor Swift is someone who I admire and makes good music.

Toni Braxton

　
If you had the chance to meet any celebrity, who would you choose?

I really don’t have anyone in mind ? After all the years in the business I do not get star struck anymore.

Billy Gibbons ZZ Top

　
Is you current occupation related to music? What do you do? What are your plans for the future?

I own thousands of Records, CD’s, Posters, etc…. and have just been selling off my collection. As I have been selling them off, I keep getting more in. With vinyl records making a comeback I have the reputation as “The Record Guy”. People are always calling and offering me more records. As far as the future. I am not sure ? I will probably always be involved with music one way or the other.