Chad Kassem

Chad Kassem is the founder and CEO of Acoustic Sounds, Inc., the premier source for audiophile LPs, SACDs and albums on reel-to-reel tape, plus high-end stereo equipment, as well as Quality Record Pressings, the leading manufacturer of 12” vinyl LPs.

Chad began selling records from his apartment in Salina, Kansas after moving from his native Lafayette, Louisiana in 1984. His mail-order business grew to what is now the company's sixth location, a multiple-building campus in northwest Salina totaling in excess of 100,000 square feet.

The company evolved into licensing and reissuing rare and out-of-print record titles, primarily blues, jazz, classical and classic rock. Today it boasts a state-of-the-art vinyl pressing plant, Quality Record Pressings, and a growing inventory of high-resolution digital recordings accessible for download through its AcousticSounds.com and SuperHiRez.com websites.

Chad opened Blue Heaven Studios in Salina in 1997 after he bought a vacant downtown church. He recognized the sanctuary's incredible natural acoustics and envisioned the space as a perfect recording studio. In pursuit of his passion to preserve traditional blues, decided to construct a state-of-the-art control room in the back of the church to capture the last of the authentic blues masters. He began a record label, APO Records, as an outlet for those recordings. During Blue Heaven's renovation, Chad decided to keep the sanctuary's original pew and balcony seats and additionally operate Blue Heaven as a concert hall. The two-night Blues Masters at the Crossroads concerts are approaching their 20th year and continue to attract fans from around the world.