Carolina Alumni Review - March/April 2009

And they needed something to call this endeavor. After throwing around names that seemed clever but less accessible, the retro-sounding Vinyl Records was suggested. The group appreciated the simplicity and catchiness of the name, so it stuck.

From there, the record label transformed from an idea to an actual entity, but not without sacrifices from all involved.

But they seem to be heading in the right direction.Vinyl Records hosted what they coined a “September Showdown” last fall, inviting musicians and students to participate in the inaugural stages of the organization. Bands and artists performed, and students voted on who they liked best.

The plan was to pick the best two, but after a student body vote with almost

“It’s amazing what you can accomplish when you don’t sleep,” Gobble said, laughing.

And they haven’t done it alone.Vinyl Records has received both monetary and emotional help from the Carolina Entrepreneurial Initiative.

2,000 votes cast, three acts — all involving at least some part of the UNC student body with a home base in the Triangle — were chosen.

Apollo, a hip-hop artist; the rock band Lake Inferior; and Lafcadio, an alt-rock trio, were the first musicians named to the Vinyl Records label.

‘It’s amazing

CEI is a part of the Kenan

what you can

Institute for Private Enterprise at the Kenan-Flagler Business

accomplish when

School. Its aim is to provide education for those with entrepreneurial aspirations and help them grow with anything from money to mentoring. CEI does not limit its outreach to business school students. Good thing, because Gobble, Mask and Kennerly are majoring in environmental studies, journalism and music, respectively.

you don’t sleep.’

Tripp Gobble
Vinyl Records
co-director, co-creator

The big fundraising break came when Gobble won the Race to BE Creative Entrepreneurial Challenge, hosted by the Kaufman Foundation in Austin, Texas, in November.

It was a whirlwind couple of days in which he presented the Vinyl Records idea, met with bigwigs in the music industry and hung out with hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons.

Vinyl Records was one of only two ideas to earn the CEI Innovations Fund Grant in 2008, receiving a match for every $5,000 they raise, up to $25,000.

But, most important, he won $5,000.

After weeks stealing time between classes and sacrificing their social lives while poring over detailed plans of ways to get Vinyl to the masses, Gobble, Kennerly and Mask had something solid to show for their efforts. Armed with that desire and the motivation of getting their hands on the grant money, the three friends-turned-business partners worked fast.

Next came the nitty-gritty of matching funding with talent: thousands of fliers stapled to light posts, hundreds of press releases printed and sent out, music recorded.

And after an album release party for all three musicians in January at Local 506 on Franklin Street, the group earned even more matchable money.

First, 115 students showed up at an interest meeting to be a part of what they hoped would become Tar Heel history. The partners learned quickly one of the realities of business when they had to whittle interested parties down to a manageable force.

The group also is hoping to hone the “music incubator” side of things by providing tutorials and music mentors for aspiring musicians on campus.

They formed a group of about 15 people to manage everything from music production to graphic design.

After initial success in Chapel Hill, Gobble said Vinyl plans to take its idea on the road, providing the same service for musicians at other universities. And if nothing else, the wish is for Vinyl Records to always have a home at Carolina even after its creators graduate.

“None of us have done this before, so it’s completely new,” Kennerly said. “We’re all just kind of making it up as we go.”

Said Gobble, “I think UNC has already seen benefits from it, and that can only continue to blossom.”

— Beth Mechum

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