STEPHEN JUDGE
Stephen Judge is a 30+ year veteran of the music business based out of Chapel Hill, North Carolina and owner of Schoolkids Records. Schoolkids has two locations (Raleigh & Chapel Hill, NC) and has been named by both Time Magazine and The Grammys are one of the most iconic record stores in the United States.
STEPHEN'S STORY
Judge has a double degree in Business Management & Accounting from N.C. State University and also spent a decade in artist management, working with Black Park Management (The Connells) and then striking out on his own to work with the bands Athenaeum (Atlantic Records/EMI Publishing), Collapsis (Universal Records), and Hobex (London Records). In 2002, Judge then entered the world of music distribution, joining Redeye Distribution as the Sales & Marketing Director and working his way up to become A&R Director and eventually the companies first General Manager before leaving in 2008 to buy Schoolkids Records. He then started his own record label and management services company (still working with Redeye worldwide), working with such artists as: producer Daniel Lanois (U2, Peter Gabriel. Bob Dylan); Buffalo Tom, New Zealand Indie legends, The Verlaines, David J (Bauhaus/Love & Rockets), Johnette Napolitano (Concrete Blonde), Swervedriver, Kenny Roby/6 String Drag, Irish folk singer, Declan O’Rourke, Australian Rock & Roll Hall of Fame artist The Church and their guitartist Marty Willson-Piper and the late Tommy Keene as well as the late Jay Bennett of Wilco.
Since then, Judge has served on the National Board of Directors for both the Music Business Association (aka NARM); The Coalition of Independent Music Stores (CIMS) and serves as the liaison for Record Store Day for the Republic of Ireland and has had international offices in Dublin and Belfast, Northern Ireland.