Sean Coleman (Director)

Sean has well over 30 years experience in the music industry in the UK and New Zealand.  Driven by a passion for music he worked his way up into a senior role with HMV's music retail chain in the UK before transferring to New Zealand in 1990 to run its comparatively small New Zealand arm.

In 1994 Sean was given the opportunity to acquire HMV's New Zealand stores, marking the start of the Sounds Music chain.  Over the 12 years until its sale to Blockbuster in 2006, Sean expanded the retail chain through acquisition and organic growth to 55 outlets, making it the largest independently owned music retailer in New Zealand with an approximate 37% share of the market sector.  The Warehouse held a 40% share of the market leaving the balance in the hands of a few other significantly smaller independent players.

Sean acquired Pacific Entertainment in 2004 originally with the view to touring some of the top 40 artists whose music was being sold through the Sounds Music stores as well as capitalising on the growth occurring in the live entertainment sector to offset the slow decline predicted in retail revenue.  Once Sounds was sold in 2006, although initially retaining his interest in Pacific, there was not the same need to for him to be fully involved with the business, leading to the invitation for Robyn Alexander to become involved and eventually take over control.  Nonetheless Sean remains a minority stakeholder and the company continues to benefit from his strong business acumen, considerable industry links, and underlying love of the arts.

Sean retains other industry links as Chairman of the Board of the Auckland-based Raukatauri Music Therapy Centre, New Zealand’s only music therapy facility.  Sean was introduced to the Centre in 2005 by a business acquaintance after expressing a desire to give back to the music industry in some way.  He was later invited to join the Therapy Centre’s Board of Trustees and appointed it’s Chairman in November 2009.  From small beginnings, under Sean’s leadership the centre’s activities have been considerably expanded to include weekly sessions at the Starship Children’s Hospital and Mason Clinic plus regional therapy centres have been set up in the Hawkes Bay and Northland.  The Raukatauri Centre’s commitment to providing music therapy to people who have emotional, intellectual, physical and social challenges was recently recognised at the 2019 Te Putanga Toi Arts Access Awards.