In a music industry career spanning more than 30 years, Gary Jones has developed a near peerless understanding and knowledge of specialist marketing and repertoire application. Beginning his working life in the music retail sector, with the Edels chain, he moved to the K-Tel orgaisation at the age of 21 where he served as both Artist & Repertoire and Sales & Marketing Manager. His flair for compilation creation was recognised, leading to his recruitment within the new Australian arm of Dino Music, becoming General Manager of the company before he was 30.

During his decade at Dino, the company achieved around A$50 Million Dollars in sales of TV-marketed compilation albums, with Jones responsible for the conception and programming of some 250 of those releases. Motivated strongly by success, his enthusiasm, flair, attention to detail and professional reliability led to him becoming, ten years ago, the co-founder and Managing Director of Holborne Australasia.

As the head of Holborne, Gary has become a pivotal pioneer in the development of alternative means of delivery and distribution of recordings. Through his innovative technique of bypassing traditional outlets he has been able to sell over 3 million discs outside the familiar and accepted framework of the music retailing in this country; and by moving swiftly and decisively into increasingly profitable Interactive and On-Line music marketing, he is not only keeping pace with a rapidly evolving business environment but continuing the fundamental restructuring of the very means by which music reaches its audience.

That Ken Davis should jointly develop a unique way of marketing music to the public comes as no surprise when you learn that he has been literally taking his music to the people for more than three decades.

A pioneer of electronic and ambient music in Australia, Ken sought alternative forums such as Sydney's Darling Harbour in which to present his original and innovative compositions to the public. While the conservative recording industry remained ignorant of his burgeoning popularity, Ken quietly set about building a following that mainstream music acts dream about, with sales topping the million mark in Australia alone.

INBOUND TOURIST NUMBERS
Figures compiled by the bureau of statistics in conjunction with estimated inbound tourists up to and including the year 2008. It is estimated that from 1988 to 2008 tourism in Australia will more than double

A chance meeting with Canadian Frank Swain at the Midem World Music Festival in Cannes, France during the early 1990's introduced Gary and Ken to the concept of the Music Interactive Display Unit.

In February of 1995, Holborne's first placement of a unit took place at the "Australian Geographic" store at Sydney's Darling Harbour, offering customers the unique opportunity of sampling music before making a purchase. Popularity among the public was quickly matched by retailers who relished the self contained nature of the units and the fact that a minimal amount of floor space could return attractive profits.

Initially targeting the non-traditional marketplace, Holborne now have more than 1500 Music Interactive Display Units placed throughout Australia in souvenir outlets, tourist attractions, airports, bookshops, gift stores, museums and newsagencies. Holborne's clientele includes such retailers as Australian Geographic, Angus & Robertson, Myer, Downtown Duty Free, City International Duty Free, Aboriginal Cultural centres as well as major tourist attractions such as Cairns Skyrail, Ayers Rock Resort, Centrepoint Tower and the Sydney Aquarium.

Backed by nationwide sales and technical support team, Holborne Australasia's sales are escalating considerably. Given the projected exponential increase in tourist numbers bolstered by the impact of the Sydney 2000 Olympics and the fact that the city is now a major focus of international film production at Fox Studios, being just two examples, the boundaries are limitless. It is testament to the success of Holborne's initiative that mainstream big names in the music retail industry now feature Holborne Interactive Units in their major outlets.

Which is not to say that Holborne have forgotten their roots....that first placement in Darling Harbour's "Australian Geographic" store is still operating very successfully!

The increasing success of our Music Interactive Display Units and the growing demand for authentic Australian Indigenous music prompted a meeting between Gary Jones, Producer Gene Pierson and Indigenous performer and artist David Hudson.

The result was the release of twelve extraordinary albums, recorded in less than six months, which established David Hudson as Australia's premier Indigenous composer and performer.

The overwhelming response to this series led us to the creation of a purely Indigenous catalogue that currently boasts in excess of 50 titles (ever growing) and accounts for an incredible 50% of sales, thus making Holborne the nation's largest "alternative" supplier of authentic, traditional Australian Indigenous music.

Since it's introduction, customer demand for our Australian product has resulted in a transformation from the initial 75% Imported / 25% Australian content to an astounding 80% Australian (20% Imported).