Graham Alexander & Company
MAKING MUSIC, BREAKING MAJOR LABELS, REVIVING THE VINYL RECORD, AND REBUILDING AN EMPIRE OF SOUND
Part producer/musician/engineer/inventor/Lennon/McCartney/Willy Wonka/Mark Twain - his story is already an epic musical odyssey
By: Jim Frank






It isn’t hard to see why Graham Alexander isn’t interested in what is left of the modern music industry. The relatively shy (but opinionated) but overwhelming 6 foot 4" rocker, musician turned Broadway singer, turned music maverick executive extraordinaire, has spent much of his professional life purposely staying out of the mainstream, avoiding notoriety, and prioritizing privacy, small spaces, and a mysterious approach to everything he does. When he had the opportunity to meet singer Ariana Grande, he opted for sushi instead despite the superstar lavishing praise upon his musical performance. He might just be one of the more vexing humans left in a music world that favors celebrity status over talent and dedication. Instead of building his social media following and catering to the major label strategies of the internet age's social media/music celebrity hybrid marketing, Graham launched his company, opened recording studios and labels, launched a successful music showroom, learned audio manufacturing and sound product engineering, became a paralegal, inventor, and producer, and took on multinational media corporations in dramatic court battles, that would put millions of Victrola® and Victor® turntables in homes - becoming a significant part of the 2010s and 2020s vinyl renaissance.
And for it all? He isn't a wealthy man. Though his net worth on the internet (a notoriously fun and incorrect indicator of net worth) places him anywhere between 2 and 80 million dollars, he laughs and guesses he hasn't made a dime personally in almost 10 years of building the Victor Company. ‘We reinvest just about 100% in music, and musicians - the goal isn't wealth; the goal is stability, and the goal is more music and music technology - and of course, preserving and expanding the Victor legacy…creating a way for people to interface with music in a way they interface with so many other great pastimes’. His office is in Camden, NJ (not New York or Philadelphia), and Camden is also where he lives. But here is where the story gets even more interesting. Graham was born in Camden in 1989 at the height of the city's most chaotic era of steady de-industrialization. One of the primary decays of the city was caused by the loss of employers like RCA-Victor, RCA-Victor evolved from the old Victor Talking Machine Co...the company that invented and developed the turntable (Victrola®), disk record, and brought it to the home for the first time. Effectively, this is where the modern music industry was born and coming full circle it serves as a poetic backdrop for Alexander's modern operations which consist of a growing number of brands and assets he painstakingly fought for and acquired over the last 10 years as part of Victor Musical Industries.
Rolling back, there is a fair chance you’ve seen (or heard) Graham before; he worked as a child in bands in clubs and bars on the east coast (New Jersey, Philadelphia, and New York) in the 2000s, he later joined the Broadway production of RAIN, the musical that opened at the Neil Simon Theater in NYC in 2010. He reprised this role in a sequel in 2013 when another jukebox musical called ‘Let It Be’ opened at the second-largest theater on Broadway. He was the character actor in 2009's ‘Beatles Rock Band’, and he and Victor have done film soundtracks and productions for theater for music as diverse as Jesus Christ Superstar, The Doors, Guardians Of The Galaxy The Animated Series, and more. Graham is probably the definition of a workaholic (though, like most workaholics, he does not believe that).
In 2011, Graham released his first solo album of original material which quickly gained traction on a new streaming platform out of Sweden, Spotify. Spotify placed the single ‘Biggest Fan’ from Graham’s first album on a top 20 years end list next to the likes of Kanye West, Taylor Swift, and more. Major labels soon took notice - and delivered a universal... “who?”.
“Soon after we started getting traction, I flew out and met with Sony, Universal, and others where they asked how I marketed and made this music...which was VERY different from what was out. I felt immediately uncomfortable with 2 things they were telling me: 1. that this music just didn’t fit the music market of 2011, and I would have to alter it to what I felt was an unreasonable degree, and 2. that they weren’t really investing in artists - they were a marketing service company that took money from artists (especially wealthy artists and their families) to market their music.”.
Graham Alexander in 2010 with a vinyl copy of ‘Biggest Fan’, a signature song of his from the era that helped launch Victor.
Graham’s realization of how the modern major label industry was functioning was a heartbreaking moment for an idealistic young recording artist. “It was all gone - it didn’t make sense. I was so flustered in those offices...I started saying; ”what do you mean I need a RICH uncle? How is any music supposed to get made that ISN'T from the ultra-wealthy?? and if I HAD money, why wouldn’t I just invest in my own company??”...”. The label heads looked baffled, and Graham effectively had a Larry David moment in the offices of what was then the heart of the music industry. “I got home, and I got sort of depressed. I was certain a music industry existed - and finding out it had converted to a marketing services industry was a momentous letdown. As a musician, I really never wanted to learn anything else in the music business - I just wanted to make music - but ultimately; it was the best thing that ever happened to me.”. Graham soon asked himself a question “What if the music industry was HERE??” and is it turned out, it had been. Graham had stumbled upon the lost history of the music and home entertainment industry’s true birth in his own hometown through Victor.
Soon, Graham was climbing down rabbit holes of brand acquisition and legalese (a highly unusual direction for a barely high school-graduated musician.) “I couldn’t believe that we had this opportunity to bring the Victor legacy home to Camden County - to bring a bona fide piece of the legacy of the music industry to its rightful place - and with the mission of making it function in the modern era was just an absolutely revolutionary concept in my mind (and career). From there, I began learning every aspect of the OLD music and home entertainment business - the record label operations, technical engineering of home audio equipment, publishing, and so much more. I found it like a fish to water and we soon opened The Victor Vault, Victor Studios, Victor Records Group, Victrola® Home Audio/Victor Home Audio/HMV® Creative Technology - publishing of music, books, and films related to the company - delving deeply into technology development to enhance creativity - diving into Artificial Intelligence technology research and development, Bluetooth technology, design of phonographs and components for the home.” Graham is occasionally restless when he speaks, the result of sheer enthusiasm and force of will. The energy is infectious.
Graham Alexander stands outside a Victor facility in Camden County, NJ in 2011, around the re-birth of the organization.
Graham Alexander's endeavors now resonate in millions and millions of homes worldwide. Each turntable or Bluetooth speaker more than just a music device to him but critical tools of the heart just as they were when the gramophone (turntable) and disk record were introduced to the world in 1896. Today, the vinyl format is once again driving increased profits and opportunities for musicians independent and major label. Graham’s pivotal role in resurrecting this portion of the industry has boosted music industry profits to unprecedented levels in the 21st century. Many of those executives Graham met with at major labels? “I think a few are working in crypto now. I don't think any of them are in music. The three major labels of the music industry were slow to respond to the turntable renaissance - Sony had to buy back record presses and shutter its CD operations…the vinyl record is the bound book of the music industry. From here out, vinyl and streaming are final evolutions in the industry… and that’s something I’m proud to have been part of”.
Back at his office in Camden, NJ a large nearby tower is adorned with a glorious stained glass of the famous Victor Company slogan 'His Master's Voice', (the dog, Little Nipper, helped the public to take recorded sound seriously back in the early 1900s with his story of hearing 'His Master's Voice'). This is Bldg. 17 of the old Victor Plant at the Camden Waterfront. Often struggling to elevator pitch, Graham has a much larger view of the music and tech industries than almost anyone I've met. His understanding of these industries and their historic and modern relations to one another are almost ethereal...like he has been here before and knows precisely how to traverse this era (something i’ve found most music professionals and musicians do not possess in 2023.). 'That dog is the international symbol of the art and science of recorded sound - an absolute phenomenon was born here in Camden NJ, at Victor….in the music and home entertainment industry and we think it's high time for the industry to work for musicians and music fans again - not big tech profiteers. I've never met a lawyer, billionaire, or tech CEO I liked"...and he speaks from experience. There is hardly a celebrity, or event he doesn't have a connection to in some way which only serves to add to his mystery. “I’m absolutely nobody, and I like it that way.”, laughs Graham. Touche, Graham. But his story is just THAT vexing, and fantastical it makes one question “is this guy what the kids call an ‘industry plant?”, “is he the Anti-christ of the music industry?”, “is he a musical Robin Hood?”
In 2024, Victor Musical Industries (The Victor Company) operates a plethora of brands, services, recording studios, record labels, media companies, manufacturing operations, live entertainment productions, and more in Camden County, NJ.
and after weeks of preparing this piece...I dont know the answer to those questions (and I think he likes it that way). What I can say is: I've never met anyone quite like Graham Alexander and after a deep dive of research, interviews, and more.....major reviews of performances from shows and recordings over a 20 year period hold him in high regard as a singer, composer, performer, and musician... why then, with such skills, would any human desire to engage with the corporate class in such a bold and antagonistic manner? Surely Broadway stages and recording studios are better than boardrooms for a creative soul? It's a mystery that draws only one conclusion; he truly and deeply loves music, and musicians and is one of the rare humans driven by creativity to the degree that a Paul McCartney, Walt Disney, hybrid should be. In many ways, Graham Alexander's story embodies the essence of 'His Master's Voice'. An underdog, lost in time, finding pathways in the modern world and bringing us all along for the ride. Never one to boast, Graham blushes at the idea of such a brand applying to his relatively young legacy...he knows he likely won't be 'His Master's last voice' - but he might just be the loudest and most meaningful in the legacy’s last 50+ years.
Where To Find Graham?
Graham Alexander performs at Victor’s purpose built showroom, The Victor Vault - a musical attraction now operating 10 years running at Victor Bldg. 19 in the Victor Camden County Campus.
RECORDED MUSIC: His work as a producer and musician can be heard on not only his own releases through Victor Records Group, but on production of projects by artists as diverse as Caruso (orchestral producer), Rachmaninoff (remastering), The Philadelphia Orchestra, Duke Ellington, G.E. Smith, Members of Monty Python, Lit Bros., Sarah Guthrie, KingSnake, music for The Walt Disney Co./Marvel, and hundreds more.
LIVE MUSIC: You can find Graham Alexander in residency at Victor’s speciality showroom facility, The Victor Vault. He also tours with Victor Entertainment productions worldwide as a producer and as a musician. His schedule can be found at his website; GrahamAlexander.co
PRODUCTS: Victor/VMI designs and manufactures HMV® Creative Technology and HMV/Victrola® audio and creative technology products of which Graham is a lead engineer/designer. These are available at VictorEntertainment.com and Amazon. Other products descended from Graham’s efforts over the last decade include all Victrola®/Victor® branded products in big box retail stores like Walmart, and Urban Outfitters in America and Europe.