{"id":10433,"date":"2022-11-24T13:01:02","date_gmt":"2022-11-24T18:01:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/avlmediagroup.com\/?p=9355"},"modified":"2022-11-24T13:10:24","modified_gmt":"2022-11-24T18:10:24","slug":"stephen-kosters-executive-bio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/avlmediagroup.ca\/stephen-kosters-executive-bio\/","title":{"rendered":"Stephen Kosters Executive Bio\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
AVL Media Group<\/strong> is one of the leading distributors of professional audio, video, and lighting equipment in North America. Initially established in 1996 by Founder and CEO Stephen Kosters after seeing an opportunity to inject a sense of genuine passion into the distribution process, the company has grown to be the proud home of many of the key brands in the industry, including Midas<\/a><\/strong>, Tannoy<\/a><\/strong>, Lab Gruppen<\/strong><\/a>, Lake<\/strong><\/a>, Klark Teknik<\/a><\/strong>, Turbosound<\/a>, Spotlight<\/a><\/strong>, Zero-Ohm Systems<\/a><\/strong> and more. For Kosters, AVL was the natural culmination of a life in the \u2018rock n\u2019 roll\u2019 business driven by a love of music matched with a genuine desire to creatively explore all the elements that make live events possible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Kosters initially got his start playing in club bands in Montreal in his late teens. Having a genuine affinity for the particulars of musical instruments and noticing his peers struggling to get the gear they needed to put on performances, he began renting equipment to friends in the local music scene at the age of 18. This naturally progressed into his first proper business venture when he opened Chateau Music\/Kostar Sound in 1976 where he sold musical instruments, live sound equipment, and recording gear. Business was booming for several years, with the store serving many major artists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The late 1970s and early 1980s were a fruitful period for live music in Canada, and as more bars and clubs opened the need arose for increasingly sophisticated live sound equipment. Seeing an opportunity to be a resource to both local and touring acts, Kosters shifted his business model to focus more heavily on live event production and forging trusted relationships with touring artists. It was during this period that Kosters also began putting into practice the philosophy that would define his career in the industry \u2014 moving beyond \u2018selling the box\u2019 and focusing on exploring creative solutions to common issues in live event production offered by new and innovative products. All of this done, of course, with the same attention to communication and service that he had learned from his early days of renting equipment to friends. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Throughout the 1980s, Kosters expanded his business again to meet the needs of touring acts that were increasingly getting in touch for equipment as his company\u2019s reputation in the industry grew. This dovetailed with a growing interest in club and show lighting that led Kostar Sound & Lighting to be one of the first Pro A\/V rental companies to stock and service touring-grade lighting equipment \u2014 a shift which was perfectly suited to the increasingly live productions that dominated the late 1980s and the burgeoning DJ and electronic dance music that would come to prominence in the 1990s. All the while, Kosters\u2019s ongoing fascination with cutting-edge A\/V technology kept him close to the changing tide of live event production and by extension, the needs of his customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n1976<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
1980<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
1996<\/h2>\n\n\n\n