Vinyl Dreams By Keosha Thomas

Source: http://www.rezoom.com/lifestyles/passionate-pursuits/read/5228/

June 17, 2008

“When I walked in the front door, I fell in love, Ashworth said about United Records Pressing.

While the majority of the world might consider records the stuff of days gone by, Cris Ashworth, president and CEO of United Record Pressing in Nashville, Tenn. believes they're a dream come true.

Currently, Ashworth is responsible for 30,000 to 40,000 of the new records in circulation, whether on personal record players, at parties where deejays mix on turntables or for sale in local mom and pop stores.

"LPs deliver an amazing sound and fun experience," said Anna Lundy, manager at Grimey's New & Preloved Music in Nashville. "The music is warm, and the sound quality is much better than CDs, cassettes or MP3s. And that is why they're successful."

Ashworth, 57, is a witty, spirited family man. Prior to his success in the album industry, Ashworth was a business leader, acting as chief financial officer for 30 years under Nashville Gas Company.

Although Ashworth had no knowledge or experience with the vinyl records or music industry, he envisioned a bigger picture and made his mark on a new business venture. After hearing around town that an old record plant was up for sale, Ashworth approached the owners, Ozell Simpkins and John Dunn.

"My friend called me up when I was without a gig, so to speak, and told me to take a look at URP and see what I thought about it," Ashworth said. "When I walked in the front door, I fell in love."

In 1999, Ashworth purchased URP. "It was the greatest investment of my life and an honest deal that I should have done a long time ago," he said. "I decided to buy the company … At first we only had 10 employees, and today we have around sixty."

Ashworth says Elvis Presley records are his biggest seller.

Next, he felt some minor changes were necessary in order for his new company to take off.

"Initially I planned to sell cassettes, CDs and vinyls because all the money was there," he said. "After I found out it would cost me $1 million to produce CDs, I moved faster to vinyl and decided I would be the King of Vinyl."

He's got evidence to back up his claim. URP has 23 presses (15 of which are used for a deal with Universal Records) and is a landmark on Gray Line's "Making of Music" Tour. The tour includes the album process, a retro-style upstairs apartment (built to accommodate Motown executives during the early 1960s) and, enclosed in a glass case, the unreleased single "Pops, We Love You" by Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye. It is one of Gaye's last records before he was killed by his father.

"There is not another company out there that does what we do at such a high level or looks like us," Ashworth said. "We have all the genres of music here: reggae, punk rock, Motown hits and even rap. We're the third coast, the ones that get it together and get it out the door."

Ashworth says that his secret formula for success is to remain excited about the business and its people.

"I try not to worry about the bottom line and focus on doing my job right every day," he said. "I also believe having a fair product and treating employees and customers fairly all the time is the key. I have made albums for Nelly Furtado, Bob Dylan and Elvis Presley. I enjoy the people and fulfilling dreams."