Colorado’s music scene is about much more than its famous musicians: Without the support of music-minded businesses, this state’s award-winning scene might never have developed.
ListenUp’s Beginnings
Definitely deserving the status of best-supporting player, ListenUp has been an intrinsic part of the scene for almost five decades. The business got its start in 1972, when college friends Walt Stinson, Mary Kay Stinson and Steven Weiner opened a small storefront in Denver with a single goal: to offer the very best in sound. From there, ListenUp has grown into a company with over 100 employees and stores in Denver, Boulder, Colorado Springs, Albuquerque and Portland, as well as a robust online presence that’s given it a global reputation. But providing incomparable sound and service remain the primary missions. “To put it simply, our goal is to create loyal and enthusiastic customers,” says Walt Stinson. “From staying ahead of the latest technologies and trends to hiring and retaining the people best qualified to take care of our clients, we are totally focused on that goal.”
ListenUp on The Road
To realize that goal, ListenUp has often taken its show on the road. In the mid-’70s, it orchestrated regular weekend concert broadcasts for KFML at the legendary Ebbets Field (where “Sound by ListenUp” became a hallmark), then went on to install the sound system as well as a recording studio at the legendary Rainbow Music Hall, founded by Colorado Music Hall of Fame members Barry Fey and Chuck Morris and which, like Ebbets, was named Billboard magazine’s Club of the Year. “We created a pretty amazing system – it still gets talked about,” remembers Stinson. “We were doing more live broadcasting than had ever been done in Denver’s history.”
LIstenUp & Technological Innovation
But soon ListenUp became known for another technological innovation: The founders bet the company’s future on compact discs, laying the groundwork for the CD market before the product even hit the streets in the early ‘80s and helping CMHOF inductee KBCO become one of the first stations in the country to adopt that digital format. A few years later, they created a custom installation department, focusing on the best in high-fidelity, high-definition sight and sound, an emphasis that continues to this day. When ListenUp moved its longtime headquarters at the start of the millennium, it created the cutting-edge Reference Theatre as a testing ground for new technologies.
LIstenUp’s Commitment to Excellent Service & Products
And since everything old is new again, ListenUp has rededicated itself to analog perfection with its world-class selection of turntables, accessories and service. From ListenUp’s hands-on customer service to its stellar reputation for commercial sound reinforcement, the company is a part of Colorado’s music past, present and future, continuing to provide sound systems for businesses and venues like Fiddler’s Green, as well as outfitting homes around the country. “Our knowledge of commercial systems prepared us well when home systems began to get more complex,” recalls Weiner. Adds Phil Murray, longtime ListenUp marketing manager, “We’ve helped music fans bring the excitement of a night at Red Rocks to their home audio systems.”
ListenUp Supporting the Music of Colorado
As Listen Up’s reputation continues to expand, it hasn’t forgotten the state it calls home, or the music fans who live here. And just as Walt Stinson was inducted into the Consumer Electronics Hall of Fame in 2009, ListenUp has recognized Colorado’s own music all-stars. The company recently renewed its sponsorship of the Colorado Music Hall of Fame, in an extension of its commitment to the music community. ListenUp helped design and install the screens for the CMHOF’s archived movies and videos on display throughout our Trading Post location at Red Rocks; those movies bring the history of Colorado music to life for the thousands of music fans and visitors who see the Hall exhibits. “We’re proud to continue to support the state’s musical heritage through our involvement with the Colorado Music Hall of Fame,” says Murray.
Listen up, Colorado!
