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bio
LEE
CRUMPTON
Founder, Leeway�s Home Grown Music Network
Leeway�s Home Grown Music Network, the 8-year-old North
Carolina company that is reinventing a new model for the promotion and
distribution of music, is the result of the vision and passion of one man
above all others, founder Lee Crumpton.
A 1992 graduate of East Carolina University, from which he
earned a B.S, in communications, Crumpton worked for various commercial
and public radio stations throughout the rest of the decade. Among his
gigs were programming and hosting two popular shows, The Sunday Night Alternative and Blues By Night for five years on
100,000-watt WSFL.
It was through his work on these programs that Lee first
came into contact with numerous independent and major-label recording
artist and their organizations. This experience inspired him to begin
conceptualizing a new music-business model, which ultimately led to the
creation of HGMN.
Most of what Lee saw during those years was none too
encouraging. �I was in radio for a long time,� he says, �and I just
got so burned out on the same old crap. I knew there was all this great
music out there that wasn�t getting a fair chance. So that�s what
drove me to start the Network.�
In 1994 Lee became president of ELPRUP Records, an
independent record label owned by Purple Schoolbus. As president, he was
in charge of all aspects of the ELPRUP operation, including publicity,
promotions, and distribution.
In January 1995, he formed Leeway Productions. Utilizing
the lessons he learned in his previous positions, he created Home Grown
Music Network, which he dedicated to the advancement of artists ignored by
the mainstream music industry. Three months later, HGMN�s first catalog
was distributed. It showcased 12 bands, and had a circulation of a few
thousand.
Eight years and dozens of artists later, the catalog
regularly reaches more than 100,000 music fans, many of whom sample the
Network�s popular compilation CDs, one of the many services provided
HGMN members. They�re also discovering new music via the Network�s own
label, Harmonized Records, which Lee started with partner Brian Asplin in
2002.
While Lee and his staff have grown the Network
exponentially since the mid-1990s, he hasn�t lost his enthusiasm for, or
love of, the independent music scene. As HGMN moves through the 21st
century, Lee continues to explore new avenues: His latest project is a
radio promotions service aimed at getting airplay for independent artists.
But even as he leads his company through new and
ever-more-exciting phases, Lee Crumpton is steadfast in his desire to hew
to the ideas upon which he founded HGMN.
"It�s been a slow, steady, grassroots growth,"
he says. "Now, we�re trying to drive forward a little bit faster
while still hanging on to the same values."
links
Click here for our website.
Click
here for information and products from HGMN
members.
Click here for links to other bands that we distribute.
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